The music of Eric Estrada Valadez has been performed in Korea, México, Canada, USA, and Germany, and has received numerous awards, like the Arturo Márquez Composition Award (2019), the International Composers Competition New Symphony Vienna (2020), the National Composition Competition for Percussion Quartet SAFA (2019), and MUSIQAʼs Emergent Composerʼs Competition (2022). He has been the recipient of grants from the Young Creators Program of the Fine Arts Institute of Mexico (2021), and the Institute of Fine Arts-Conacyt (2022). In his works, Eric blends different music genres, such as rock, jazz and latino music, with contemporary composition, and explores the relationship between language, cultural identity, and music. Commissions have come from organizations and individuals like MUSIQA, Mexicoʼs National Endowment for the Arts, Cynthia Woods Mitchel Center for the Arts, the Public Arts University of Houston System, Aura Contemporary Ensemble, Texas New Music Festival, and KISA International Music Composition Program.

He holds a bachelor and master degrees in the field of composition by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and is currently pursuing a fully funded Doctoral Degree in composition at the University of Houston Moores School of Music with Rob Smith.

Fulfilling a childhood dream, Dr. Maiko Sasaki, a clarinetist, enjoys her professional career as a solo/chamber/orchestra musician. Dr. Sasaki plays in prestigious orchestras such as River Oaks Chamber Orchestra, Opera in the Heights, Sarasota Symphony, and Gilbert & Sullivan Society of Houston. She has also been featured in many chamber concerts such as the Kennedy Center Conservatory Project, Musiqa, the ROCO Connection Series, and Take Five — a Houston Symphony’s outreach program to just name a few. For her passionate and inspiring performances, she has been awarded the Presser Music Award–which is given to an artist demonstrating excellence and outstanding promise for a distinguished career in the field of music. Since 2011, Dr. Sasaki has co-founded an ensemble “MATIMA” with pianist Dr. Makiko Hirata. Its mission is to promote music as a universal language to help us transcend our differences through a communal sensory experience. MATIMA was invited to perform as guest artists at the International Clarinet Association’s ClarinetFest 2015 in Madrid, Spain for their contribution to the clarinet literature and their collaborative artistry.

Samantha St. John is a third year undergraduate at Rice University, studying under the guidance of Paul Ellison. She is a student originating from a dual classical and jazz music background, employing both aspects of her playing throughout her career. Within the past two years, she was a faculty member and performer at the Cleveland Tri-C Summer Jazzfest, Principal bassist of the Cleveland Women’s Orchestra, and scholarship attendant of the DC Bass workshop in summer of 2022. In 2023, Samantha attended the Wabass bass workshop, and chamber festival Domaine Forget to Charlevoix. Today, she is an active member of the Shepherd School Symphony Orchestra, the Houston-based modern music collective “Musiqa”, and the Rice University Jazz band. As she continues her studies at Rice University, Samantha hopes to expand her knowledge of bass repertoire in all domains to further her well rounded nature as an instrumentalist.

Craig Hauschildt has dedicated his career to sharing music and drawing upon it for the betterment of the community. In addition to performing with Musiqa, he performs regularly throughout Houston with ROCO, the Houston Grand Opera, the Houston Ballet, DACAMERA, Ars Lyrica, Bach Society, Mercury, and Loop38, and joins colleagues from across the country at the Grand Teton Music Festival each summer in Wyoming. He is equally comfortable as a chamber or orchestral musician, on the stage or in the pit, playing percussion or conducting, and performing a wide range of musical styles from historically-informed Baroque and Classical programs through the boundary-pushing repertoire of today. Working with young musicians is a critical part of Craig’s personal and professional life. In addition to coaching with the Houston Youth Symphony and preparing students in his studio for studies at the Juilliard School, the Eastman School of Music, the University of Texas – Austin, and others, he currently teaches at Sam Houston State University and has previously taught at the University of Houston and Texas A&M University. His passion for this work is fueled by his wife, violinist Kana Kimura, their two wonderful children, and the enjoyment he receives from sharing music with others.