Composer Spotlight

Alvaro Bermudez

Guitarist and composer Alvaro

Bermudez is a native of White Plains, New York. Alvaro currently heads the guitar program at Ronald Reagan Senior High School’s Classical Arts Academy in Doral, Florida. Alvaro holds the Bachelor of Music Degree and Master of Music Degree from Florida International University in Jazz Studies with an emphasis in guitar.

Alvaro has been recognized for his “fine…contemporary choral music,” which has been described as “lovely” and “contagious.” (South Florida Classical Review, Music in Cincinnati, & Miami Clásica) Seraphic Fire first commissioned Alvaro to write Padre Nuestro, a setting of the Lord’s Prayer, which was premiered by the group in 2007. Universities and professional groups throughout the United States and South and Central America have since performed Alvaro’s compositions and commissioned him to write new works. In 2020, Alvaro was the recipient of a Knight Foundation New Work Award to write Danzas del Silencio, a compelling, choral and guitar collaboration with Seraphic Fire that blends Colombian dance rhythms with Bach’s orchestral structure. Alvaro is a guitarist in high demand all over South Florida. His Latin trio, “Trio Los Clasicos,” plays regularly in the Miami area and has been engaged for performances in Atlanta, Georgia and Boston, Massachusetts.

Shawn Crouch

Gramophone Magazine calls Shawn Crouch a "gifted composer" and the New York Times describes Shawn Crouch's work as music of "gnarling atonal energy". The Miami Herald called his Road from Hiroshima; A Requiem a "staggering achievement, an imaginative, powerful and deeply moving work." Shawn has received grants and awards from such institutions as the American Academy of Arts and Letters, The American Prize,

ASCAP, BMI, Yale University, Society of Composers Inc., Meet the Composer, NewMusicUSA, and the Percussive Arts Society. Shawn has had his works performed and commissioned by ensembles in the United States, Canada and Europe including the Cleveland Orchestra, American Modern Ensemble, Cantori New York, California E.A.R. Unit, Chanticleer, Eighth Blackbird, Essential Voices USA, Prism Quartet, Seraphic Fire, Splinter Reeds, [Switch~ Ensemble], the Yesaroun' Duo, Variant 6, and Volti. Crouch is currently Associate Professor of Professional Practice in Composition and Theory at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.

Sydney Guillaume

Praised by the Miami Herald for their “impressive maturity and striking melodic distinction,” Sydney Guillaume’s compositions are known to be intricate, challenging and yet highly spirited. They promote human values and are full of heart and passion. His compositions continually enthrall choirs everywhere and have been performed around the world. They have been featured at numerous conferences and international festivals like the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the World Choir Games and Ireland’s Cork International Choral Festival. Guillaume also writes film music – he has written original film and documentary scores for the Los Angeles-based company Loyola Productions.

Originally from Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Sydney Guillaume is currently residing in Portland, Oregon working as a full-time composer, conductor and frequently doing workshops on his music with university and high school choirs throughout North America. Since 2013 he has been the conductor of Imbroglio Sextet, a group of musicians from Haiti, Spain, Bolivia and the United States. In 2017, he was honored by the top music school in Haiti for his “great contribution in the expansion and the promotion of the music and culture of Haiti around the world.”

Tawnie Olson

Described as "taut, focused... colourful" by Gramophone, "mesmerizing," by critic Tim Smith, and "especially glorious... ethereal" by Whole Note, the music of Canadian composer Tawnie Olson draws inspiration from politics, spirituality, the natural world, and the musicians for whom she composes. Her opera Sanctuary and Storm (libretto by Roberta Barker) is the winner of the 2021-2023 National Opera Association Dominick Argento Chamber Opera Competition. Olson is also the winner of the 2018 Barlow Prize, a consortium commission for the BYU Singers, The Crossing, and Seraphic Fire, and of a 2019 Copland House Residency Award. She was the Composerin-Residence of the 2018 Women Composers Festival of Hartford. Her scores are available from the Canadian Music Centre, E.C. Schirmer, Galaxy Music, Hal Leonard's BandQuest and Mark Foster series, and Oxford University Press.

David Vess

University of Miami Student Composer-in-Residence

The music of David Vess has been described as everything from 'ethereal and unique' to 'a real barnburner'. His most recent original score to Applause Academy's 2022 production of A Midsummer Night's Dream was hailed as "a big highlight, greatly enhancing the audience's immersion into the magical world." Originally from the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, Vess' music draws inspiration from his eclectic career in music.

Vess was the winner of the 2016 Roger Sessions Memorial Composition Award at the Boston Conservatory. His music has been performed across the United States, Canada, Italy and Japan. David has collaborated with such ensembles and soloists as the Brockton Symphony Orchestra, the Bridgewater State University Wind Ensemble, Boston Musica Viva, the Boston Conservatory Sinfonietta, Shiki Duo and Bailey Street Brass Quintet, Sharan Leventhal and Kevin MacFarland. Vess holds degrees in composition and tuba performance from the Boston Conservatory and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. David is currently pursuing his Doctorate in composition at the University of Miami Frost School of Music, serving as a Teaching Assistant in Music Theory.

University of Miami Student Conductor in Residence

Seraphic Fire’s collaboration with Frost School of Music Choral Studies Department allows one graduate or DMA student per academic year the opportunity to work closely with Seraphic Fire Artistic Director Patrick Dupre Quigley and Associate Conductor James K. Bass, assist with score preparation, gain experience leading sectional and full ensemble rehearsals, and conduct the professional ensemble in select Seraphic Fire subscription concerts.

Wesley Roy has worked in public high and middle schools for the past ten years in Tallahassee and Orlando, where he directed choirs and taught music theory and private voice lessons. During his time in Tallahassee, he also served as a church music director and member of the Tallahassee Community Chorus. Over the last nine years, he has enjoyed performing nationally and internationally with the Festival Singers of Florida, under the direction of Dr. Kevin Fenton. Roy has held leadership positions on county and state boards for the Florida Vocal Association and the American Choral Directors Association and served as the coordinator for the Florida ACDA TenorBass Honor Choir. Prior to his work in schools, he received a Master of Music Education degree in Choral Conducting from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education from Syracuse University. He is currently working towards his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Miami under the direction of Dr. Amanda Quist.