Four new compositions have been commissioned for the 2022 Micro Composition Project, a signature program of Classical Music Indy. The works will premiere at the AMP at 16 Tech on Sept. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in Indianapolis, Indiana. The Micro Composition Project was created to produce engaging new works that disrupt the traditional classical music listening experience. This concert, which premieres the 2022 Micro Composition Project works, will provide Indianapolis residents with an opportunity to expand preconceived notions of the classical music genre through expert interpretation and performance of these new works.

The Indianapolis-based group Forward Motion will be the ensemble premiering the 2022 Micro Composition Project composers’ works. The four composers selected for the 2022 Micro Composition Project include Dr. Caroline KyungA Ahn, Dr. Jorge Muñiz, Eric Salazar, and Jared Thompson.

Classical Music Indy would like to thank our sponsors, Penrod Society, Taft Stettinius & Hollister, Bookkeeping Plus, and National Bank of Indianapolis, for supporting our program.

Performance Schedule

Join us on September 16th for the concert featuring Indy-based ensemble, Forward Motion. These new pieces will also feature introductions by several of the composers themselves. The concert is free and open to the public.

Meet The Composers

Dr. Caroline KyungA Ahn

Embracing a wide spectrum of musical styles, Dr. Ahn writes music inspired by the natural world. Her music is described as ‘entirely delicate and lyrical’ yet has a strong power that grabs audience’s attention. Her recent style shows using a more minimalistic approach to music but still greatly focusing on timbre using a lot of repeating and perpetuating motions.

Born in Seoul, Korea, Caroline KyungA Ahn holds degrees from Yonsei University (BM in composition), Eastman School of Music (MM and MA in composition and pedagogy of theory) and Indiana University (DM in composition). Her compositions include orchestral, chamber, and theatrical works that have been widely performed in South Korea, the United States, Europe and South America.

Dr. Ahn currently works as an Assistant Professor and Artist in Residence at Anderson University where she teaches music composition, music theory and piano. She works as a director at the Anderson University Piano and Composition Summer Camp. She also serves as member of the Cultural Inclusion Committee at College Music Society, as a chair for Opus Composition Festival and a chair of the Commissioned Composer program at IMTA. Dr Ahn serves as a president of the non-profit community serving group, Sound of Hope.

Jorge Muñiz

The music of Jorge Muñiz has been performed in Spain, Italy, Germany, France, Singapore, Australia, and the United States by such ensembles as the Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Seville Symphony Orchestra, Malaga Symphony Orchestra, Asturias Symphony Orchestra, Oviedo Filarmonía, South Bend Symphony Orchestra, the Das Scardanelli Quartett, Euclid Quartet, Avalon Quartet, Cámara XXI, Duo Ahlert & Schwab, Cuarteto Quiroga, Cuarteto Quattro, Duo Saxperience, the Vesper Chorale and Chamber Orchestra, and Duo Sonidos.

In October 2010, the South Bend Symphony Orchestra presented the world premiere of Requiem for the Innocent, written in remembrance of victims of terrorism around the world, featuring baritone soloist Ivan Griffin and five choruses. The South Bend Tribune called the work “a magnificent oratorio… a creation that is profound, mature and well-proportioned.”

Opera Oviedo (Spain) commissioned Muñiz to compose a three-act opera, Fuenteovejuna for the opening of the house’s 71st anniversary season in 2018-2019. The opera was the first mainstage production to be commissioned by the company in its history. This opera will be performed again in October 2022 by Opera de Tenerife (Spain).

Motown Dreams, a concerto for saxophone and orchestra will also be performed on October 1, 2022 by Timothy McAllister and the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra.

Jorge Muñiz received his masters in music composition from Carnegie Mellon University where he studied with Leonardo Balada and his doctorate from the Manhattan School of Music with Richard Danielpour. Dr. Muñiz is currently Professor of Music – Composition and Theory, at the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts at Indiana University South Bend.

Eric Salazar

Salazar holds a B.M. in Clarinet Performance from Ball State University and an M.M. in Clarinet Performance from Bowling Green State University. He currently serves as Director of Community Engagement for Classical Music Indy where he manages, books, and promotes over a hundred and fifty performance events a year in Central Indiana. Eric also mentors and hires 30-40 independent classical musicians annually. With their combined efforts this group brings music to over 100,000 Indiana residents a year, with a focus on people who would not otherwise have access to live music performance.

Salazar pioneers the new classical genre. He takes his classical training and fuses together modern electronics with classical instruments, blending ancient styles with present musical trends. Salazar’s connective approach to performing wins the hearts of audiences as he guides them through explorations of raw emotion. Eric Salazar is a Pereira 3D Artist. He plays on a Pereira 3D printed barrel and bell, and 3D printed ligature.

He has performed as a soloist and group musician in 8 states of the US and overseas in Belgium. Salazar resides in the Indianapolis, IN area. Here, Salazar teaches, performs, composes, records, leads workshops, and presents lectures. Salazar was also a guest contributor to the International Clarinet Association, BuzzReed!

Eric actively writes, commissions, and premieres new works for himself and classical chamber ensembles. He is always on the lookout for talented musicians to engage in collaborative performance projects. His other professional interests include: conducting, social entrepreneurship, social media management, pedagogy, music psychology, marketing, graphic design, and project management.

Jared Thompson

An Indy native, Jared Thompson is a saxophonist, composer, and arranger. He began piano at the age of 5 and began studying saxophone at the age of 10. The North Central High School and Denison University alum formed his own jazz quartet Premium Blend in 2007. A mainstay and fan favorite in the Indy area, Thompson performs regularly at The Chatterbox, The Jazz Kitchen and a myriad of venues in the city. Premium Blend has been featured in two national award-winning documentaries “Go Get Your Horn”, and “Chatterbox: A Love Letter.” They have also released four albums “S.O.A.P.(Sum Of All Parts) and “The Road,” and released their third album “Vices” in June of 2019. Premium Blend’s fourth studio album, “38th & Postmodernism,” was a featured commission by the Indianapolis Jazz Foundation for Indy Jazz Fest 2020, and is the soundtrack for the docu-concert “38th & Postmodernism”(a featured Indy Short for the 2021 Heartland Film Festival) that addressed the myriad of social tensions that were at the forefront of America’s mind throughout 2020. Thompson also performs and writes for the hip-hop band Clint Breeze and The Groove, and has made it his mission to bridge the gap between the traditions of the jazz genre of the 50s-90s with the language and aesthetic of a 21st-century listening audience.