Each Mortal Thing

Christopher McDonald is a music creator and a capturer/manipulator of sound and light. He is a founding member of the quiet-core band Cuddle Magic and has collaborated with many artists and organizations in an effort to bring more beauty into the world. Christopher runs a recording studio and production company and serves as the Director of Worship Arts and Technology at Resurrection Philadelphia. He lives with his wife and two daughters in Germantown.

christopherandrew.net

Jeremy is a musician, recording engineer and producer. He previously co-operated Mason Jar Music in Brooklyn before moving to Philadelphia where he currently runs Black Birch Recording with his brother Christopher. He lives in West Philadelphia with his family.

Sean Bailey, Ph.D. enjoys an active, interdisciplinary musical life in the Philadelphia area, engaging with the field of musical creativity in ever-evolving contexts: including roles as an audio engineer, composer, educator, performer, and technologist—making music at the intersection of technology and the creative spirit.

upbeatmusician.com

Massachusetts native Ross Bellenoit is a guitarist, record producer, and teacher that has been living in Philadelphia for 23 years. After graduating University of the Arts with a jazz studies degree in 2007, he has gone on to produce upwards of 50 records for independent Philadelphia musical artists. He has produced content for various children’s music platforms such as Toniebox and Omoberry. He was commissioned by the Philadelphia Jazz Project, which yielded a song-suite utilizing the poetry of Federico Garcia Lorca, and was music director for the Philadelphia Centennial concert celebrating 100 years of music in Philadelphia. He has toured internationally with Amos Lee, Joseph Parsons and has appeared on NPR’s “A Prairie Home Companion” and “Mountain Stage” numerous times.

rossbellenoit.com

Bethany Danel Brooks is a musician, teacher, and liturgy-crafter living in Prague, Czech Republic. She has performed as a soloist and collaborative pianist throughout North America, the UK, and Europe. With violinist Samuel Nebyu, she recorded Music by Composers of African Descent (BCM&D Records, 2017). She has premiered numerous works by Joshua Stamper, including as a member of the ensemble color as time.

For ten years, Bethany was Director of Musical Worship at City Church, Philadelphia, where she developed a passion for letting the gifts of composers, visual artists, and local musicians enrich congregational worship. In 2012 she released Quarry Street Hymnal, a recording project of sacred music which was shaped by her years in Philadelphia’s roots music scene. Her essay “The Discipline of Delight” was published in the book It Was Good:Making Music to the Glory of God (Square Halo Press, 2013).

bethanydanelbrooks.com

Evan Chapman has built a multifaceted career across both the film and music industries, most notably as a founding member of percussion-driven trio Square Peg Round Hole and film production company Four/Ten Media. As a solo artist and with Square Peg Round Hole and indie-pop band Lydia, he has toured extensively across the U.S., performing at festivals such as SXSW, Treefort, and Bunbury, and at Lincoln Center alongside legendary minimalist composer Steve Reich. His work with Square Peg Round Hole has been praised by NPR, and his 2024 solo album Reveries, released on Better Company Records, blends contemporary-classical, electronic, and post-rock into a genre-defying sonic world. He is endorsed by Zildjian Cymbals, Vic Firth, and Evans Drumheads.

Elisa Chodan is a singer, music educator, and music therapist based in Philadelphia and Lancaster, PA. Current projects include leading music therapy initiatives that join youth with elders with dementia to explore music making, relationship building, and mental health through singing. Elisa holds a BS in Music Education, MMus in Voice Performance, and an MA in Music Therapy and Counseling.

Melissa Choi is a Philadelphia-based freelance stylist and fashion designer specializing in embellishment design. She holds a B.S. in Fashion Design from Philadelphia University and has designed for brands including Free People, Anthropologie, and Urban Outfitters. She also co-designed her own label, Senpai + Kohai.

Melissa previously lived and worked in India, where she focused exclusively on embellishment design, developing the skills that have become a defining element of her practice.

Melissa has an ongoing collaborative creative project, Choi Lin, with her husband, Isaac Tin Wei Lin.

Websites:

Choilindesign.com
Senpaiandkohai.com

davy is the recording project of singer-songwriter + producer duo Megan and Daniel Tavani. The Boston-based couple weaves their classical background with indie-folk & alt-pop idioms to depict stories of life, grief, faith, and love. Daniel is an independent music producer, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist, touring with artists such as Owl City and Josh Garrels. Megan enjoys an eclectic freelance career as a vocalist, cellist, and songwriter, most recently recording and performing with the Porter’s Gate. They have been on tour with Jon Guerra since 2025 and are set to release their debut album later this year.

davymusic.com

Katie‘s background is in music, non-profits, and ministry. She is a singer-songwriter, but spends most of her time clowning around for her children. For 15 years, Katie led worship in a variety of settings and recorded and performed her own pop/rock music (under the name Everhart), before stepping back from music for nearly a decade when performance anxiety became too difficult to endure. The fact that Katie is even on this project is a testament to God’s healing work and she’d love to tell you about it sometime. Katie enjoys all forms of physical activity, conversation, reading, and comedy. She loves watching God work wonders in hidden places.

Thomas Kraines is a versatile cellist, composer, and teacher. He performs with the Network for New Music Ensemble, the experimental ensemble Unseen Rain, the jazz quartet Two Wings Two Biscuits, the ARCX Quartet, and the improvisation collective People’s Music Supply. He is a former member of the Daedalus Quartet and the Peabody Trio.

Thomas teaches cello at the University of Pennsylvania, where he also directs the chamber music program, and at Philadelphia’s Settlement Music School.

Thomas graduated from the Curtis Institute of Music and the Juilliard School, and studied cello with Frederic Raimi, Orlando Cole, and Joel Krosnick, and composition with Tom Benjamin. He has performed at the SLLMF since 2006.

Sarah Long is a musician, songwriter, and music therapist based in Philadelphia. She serves as Content Coordinator, where she manages digital communications and helps shape the community’s voice. She has released music under her own name and has collaborated with ensembles such as I’mechoes and Vistablue, while continuing work on new projects.

Singer and writer Angela Hendryx Komline is originally from Iowa and is currently based in Philadelphia. Past projects include singing in the workshop for Paola Prestini’s Sensorium Ex and writing and directing her one woman show with music by Ian Zanski Silence Breathes Me. Hendryx graduated from Wheaton College (BM) and Bard College Conservatory (MM). While at Bard under the study of Dawn Upshaw, she was featured as a soloist with the Albany Symphony, and operas Pulcinella and Svadba directed by Alison Moritz. Hendryx has sung with the Saluzzo Opera Academy as Ruggiero in Alcina. Other festivals include Orford Music Festival, and SongFest. As a writer, she has studied with author and poet Dr. Benjamin Myers.

Isak Gaines is an award-winning composer, producer, audio engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. He has collaborated with artists like Michael Brook (Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan) and Donald Palma (Orpheus Chamber Orchestra), and was mentored by Grammy-winning producer and arranger Robert Sadin (Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter). He has performed at major venues around the world including Auditorio Ibirapuera in Sao Paulo, The Guggenheim Museum in NYC, and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Perugia. In 2025 he composed the original score for Lisse – a contemporary ballet which premiered in a run of five shows at the Joyce Theater in New York. His work has been recognized by organizations like the International Antonin Dvorak Composition Competition, ASCAP, Downbeat Magazine, and the Tribeca New Music Festival. Born and raised in Seattle, he moved to NYC at age 19 to study music performance and composition at The New School. After graduating, he relocated to Philadelphia, where he currently resides.

isakgaines.com

On any given day, Cole Kamen-Green might be improvising in a Brooklyn club, circuit-bending a Speak & Spell, or arranging horn parts for pop stars. A trumpet and EVI player and composer based in New York City, he’s 1 of 2 in the art pop duo mmeadows, praised for its “lithe and elemental” sound (Under the Radar), and is a founding member of the indie chamber-pop collective Cuddle Magic (The New Yorker). He has arranged and recorded horns for Beyoncé, Lorde, Harry Styles, Kevin Morby, Silver Jews, Kevin Abstract, Joan As Policewoman, and Laurie Anderson.

Belgian-American violinist, Maximilian Haft resides in Geneva, Switzerland and has lived on the European continent since 2009. A multifaceted musician, Max specializes in contemporary repertoire and improvisation. He has performed on major stages and intimate venues across Europe, North America, South America, Australia and the Middle East. As a soloist, Max has performed and premiered contemporary violin concertos with the North Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, The Geneva Chamber Orchestra, Collegium Novum Zurich, and the Kosovo Philharmonic. Max has held the position of violin solo with Ensemble Contrechamps since 2015 and is a founding member of Ensemble Proton Bern, two new music institutions based in Switzerland. Max has performed, recorded and collaborated with a diverse cast of jazz, electronic, pop, and folk musicians including Marc Ribot, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Roscoe Mitchell, Eef van Breen, Matmos, Colin Self, Tesla, White Hinterland, Anais Mitchell, Maya Hawke, and Sam Amidon. Max studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music pre college division with Zaven Melikian and Wei He. He has a Bachelor’s in Violin Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he studied with Masuko Ushioda†. He graduated with a Master’s degree cum laude from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague having studied with Vera Beths. He is a native of Sacramento California.

maxhaft.com

Claire Holley grew up listening to her Dad’s classical and country records, as well as her Mississippi grandmother’s jazz piano playing. She started writing songs in college and, thanks in part to WUNC, stumbled into a career in music. Her self-titled debut from Yep Roc Records was featured on NPR’s Weekend Edition, and Huffington Post called Claire’s voice “achingly beautiful.” Her latest album, WHERE I LIVED, includes “Beauty School,” an homage to the late Dolly Parton. She lives in Los Angeles and will soon be releasing an album of Taizé songs featuring Debby Boone and Kate Higgins.

claireholley.com

Ty Maxwell is a musician, songwriter and writer currently based in the United States.

An in-demand session musician, Ty has worked with a wide variety of artists live and on record, such as The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid To Die, Strange Ranger, Another Michael, Pinegrove, Fenne Lily, Sinai Vessel, Emperor X, Shannen Moser, Sam & Louise, and Lindsay Reamer. He writes, releases and performs music under the moniker Thank You Thank You.

As a writer, Ty’s focus is on live music: what makes it special, and vitally important, in our fractured age. He is currently working on a book about DIY touring. He is also a contributing interviewer at The Creative Independent.

tymaxwell.com

Catherine Ricketts is editor-in-chief of Re:Echo Journal. She is the author of The Mother Artist: Portraits of Ambition, Limitation, and Creativity (Broadleaf, 2024). Her essays appear in Image, Comment, The Christian Century, Ploughshares and elsewhere. She lives near Philadelphia and works at Villanova University.

Mike Robinson Is a Brooklyn based Musician specializing in guitar, pedal steel guitar, banjo and voice. Over his career he has performed and recorded with many artists including Zach Bryan, Maggie Rogers, Dijon, Orville Peck, Sarah Jarosz, Iris Dement and more. Mike is currently touring with Sierra Ferrell.

mikerobinsonguitar.com

Matt Scarano has performed throughout the world with numerous artists in a wide variety of styles. Notable artists and venues include Amos Lee, Chris Brubeck, Time For Three, Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, and Red Rocks Ampitheatre. He is an active private teacher and clinician and has taught at University of The Arts, Swarthmore College, and The Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency. You can currently find him performing with his bands U.S.E. Trio and Spaga. Matt received his B.M. and M.M. from Temple University. He is currently based in Amsterdam.

www.mattscarano.com

I was born and grew up in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. From my father’s record collection, I learned to hear and to love jazz from the thirties and forties. I learned clarinet in the music program at Susquehanna Township School District, from trumpet player Bill Perbetsky. He connected me with great reed players, Dave Godshall and Tom Strohman. I learned lots playing for years in a youth band led by trumpeter/composer Ronnie Waters. Then, I got a physics degree at Harvard College, near Boston. But, while there, I couldn’t help diverting myself with music on campus and around town. After school I stuck around Boston for a while, teaching lessons and playing weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, bars, brunches, parades, and so on. And during the same I started hitting the road with scrappy touring operations all around the US. I learned guitar and started writing songs in a band called Cuddle Magic. I moved to Brooklyn in 2009. I kept playing (many instruments), and singing, and got to back up Anais Mitchell, Iris Dement. I learned audio engineering and started making records, for Ana Egge, Taylor Ashton, the David Wax Museum, and others. I played winds (sax, clarinet, & flute, and even a little brass) on television scores, commercials, films, and many records.

Benjamin Stamper is a filmmaker who explores the nature of perception and human consciousness through slow cinema. His most personal work has been likened to a “spiritual mandala” by film critic Paul Schrader in his book Transcendental Style in Film (Second Edition).

Benjamin’s video installation commissions include Dark Burn Creative (LA), The Sorenson Center for Excellence at Utah State University, The Center for Faith and Work, New York City, and Met Live Arts at the Met Brauer, NYC.

Benjamin is a Lincoln City Fellow and has been the artist-in-residence at Center for Faith & Work and Grace Farms Foundation.  He is a longtime collaborator with director/cinematographer Andrew Michael Ellis and renowned choreographer Andrea Miller.

benstamperpictures.com

Joshua Stamper is a transdisciplinary artist and composer whose work explores hiddenness, revelation, ephemera, and archive.

He has worked as an orchestral arranger, studio conductor, and session musician for Columbia / Sony BMG and Concord Records, Lionsgate Films, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Legendary Entertainment, and for independent labels Domino, Dead Oceans, Important Records, and Smalltown Supersound.

He has received fellowships from MacDowell, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the Speranza Foundation, the BAU Institute at the Camargo Foundation. Joshua’s work has been supported by the American Composers Forum, the NewAm Composers Lab, the Lilly Endowment, the Musical Fund Society of Philadelphia, the Eric Stokes Foundation, and the National Endowment for the Arts.

joshuastamper.com

Jason Stein is a professional trombonist living in the Philadelphia region. He has performed with many of the top orchestras around the US, and toured with many high level recording artists around the world.

jasonrstein.com

Renee Warnick teaches K-2 general music at Germantown Friends School in Philadelphia and maintains an active performing career as an orchestral, chamber, and studio musician. She received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in viola performance from Temple University, completed Kodály pedagogy training at West Chester University, and holds violin pedagogy certification from the Suzuki Association of America. When she is not performing or teaching, Renee enjoys cooking, knitting, and spending time in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.

Hadley Whittle is a writer, musician, and woodworker born in Argentina and raised in Northern Virginia. Hadley graduated from Westmont College in Santa Barbara where she studied poetry and creative non-fiction, and participated in Gordon College’s arts and humanities program in Orvieto, Italy. Now based in Philadelphia, she has spent time in international christian ecumenical communities, where she has written and produced a number of alternative musical projects and continued to develop her craft in reclaimed-wood carpentry. Releasing music under the pseudonym Dream Home, Hadley’s music centers around themes of faith, birth, paradox, and the natural world.

Leah Wrenne is a singer-songwriter and Philly native who pairs melody with emotions by crafting eclectic songs based on mental health, disability, faith, and love. Inspired by artists such as India Arie, Sara Bareilles, and Lizzy McAlpine; Leah Wrenne blends soul, indie-folk, and indie-pop elements together to create music that touches the soul.