Mary Bichner (b. 1982) is an American orchestral composer of opera and ballet with sound-to-color synesthesia — a neurological condition that allows her to “see” splashes of specific colors when she hears their corresponding pitches sounded. Her work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic, BBC Music Magazine [UK], La Nouvelle Republique [France], and on NPR; and she has collaborated artistically with numerous organizations in the United States, France, and Greece. Noted commissions and projects include serving as composer-in-residence at The Vasilicos of Santorini, Greece (where she was commissioned to compose a new string quartet work inspired by the colors of the world-famous Santorini sunset); serving a two-year composer residency at the historic Mount Auburn Cemetery of Cambridge, MA, USA (where she was commissioned to compose two orchestral suites inspired by the cemetery's breathtaking landscape and landmarks); serving as composer-in-residence at The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation of New Mexico and Marble House Project of Vermont; and more. She has recently finished her first full-length opera, "The Memoirs of Antonina", inspired by Marie Antoinette.

https://www.marybichner.com

Zemlinsky Prize winner and eight-time winner of The American Prize, composer Martin Hebel (b.1990) works at the intersection of music, advocacy, and interdisciplinary collaboration, responding to global challenges with socially-conscious music to spark positive change and strengthen communities. Hebel was inducted as Honored Artist of The American Prize in 2025.

Hebel’s Uplifting Unheard Voices project, an international initiative pursuing humanitarian advocacy through music, amplifies words of refugees he interviewed with a series of new compositions to motivate listeners to end conflicts refugees flee. With support from the Presser Foundation’s Graduate Music Award, he interviewed refugees fleeing conflicts in Africa, Ukraine, and the Middle East, facilitated by refugee agencies, community advocates, and guidance from the Vatican’s Migrants and Refugees Section.

Hebel’s music has been performed by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra as a winner of the American Composers Orchestra EarShot program, and by Columbus Symphony in Ohio, Riverside Symphony in NYC, Filharmonie Brno in the Czech Republic, and the Lincoln Trio, among others, at renowned venues across the U.S. and Europe including NYC’s DiMenna Center for Classical Music, Cincinnati Music Hall, and the Ohio Theater in Columbus, Ohio.

With discography published by Ablaze Records, Centaur Records, and the USAF Band of the Golden West, Hebel’s portfolio includes orchestral and wind ensemble works, instrumental and vocal chamber music, choral music, multimedia compositions, and collaborations with other artists.

Martin Hebel earned his DMA in composition from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 2021 and his MM in 2018. He graduated with honors from the University of Connecticut in 2015 with degrees in composition and trumpet.

Martin Hebel currently serves as Lecturer of Composition and Music Theory at the University of North Alabama in Florence, AL, USA. During the summer, Hebel serves as Instructor of Music Theory in the Summer Arts Camp at Interlochen Center for the Arts in Interlochen, MI, USA.

PRO Membership: ASCAP - American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers

https://www.martinhebel.com

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