A Composer's Corner

Latin Grammy® Nominated Composer/Arranger/Pianist Joachim Horsley is on a musical adventure that breaks boundaries and brings audiences together from around the world.

Horsley created an original arrangement called “Beethoven In Havana,” which is Beethoven’s 7th symphony in a Cuban style.

His albums "Via Havana" "Caribbean Nocturnes" and "Afro Bach" followed in the coming years, and are collections of unique arrangements of Classical Masterpieces re-imagined with Caribbean and African Rhythms,

In 2026, his 4th album, "Superfusion," is his most ambitious and deepest exploration of Classical Music and Afro-Latin Rhythms yet.

​Coming from the film music world, Horsley created original scores for projects like Disney’s Big City Greens (which earned him an ANNIE Nomination in 2026), HBO’s Gordita Chronicles, Warner Brother's Batman: Soul of the Dragon and ABC's Baker and the Beauty.

By day, Paul Hartung is a board director and strategy advisor for medtech companies: currently including Leuko (which makes a needle-free home test kit for white blood cell levels) and Clairways (which makes a wearable sensor for monitoring respiratory health). He has a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from MIT. Paul started playing clarinet at age 9 and was classically trained. Self-taught in jazz and improvisation, today he is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer who has written over 80 compositions and recorded 67 of them. Paul co-founded the seven-piece jazz/funk/rock band Constant Change in 1982 and played for the next five years in clubs. We will review excerpts from Paul’s recordings, and we'll discuss how he approaches melodic ideas and composition in general.

Paul Hartung is a composer, multi-instrumentalist and producer. His instruments include clarinet, alto clarinet, bass clarinet, Lyricon, Roland Aerophone (wind synthesizers), keyboard and Apple Logic production software. He also co-founded the band Tension.

Neely Bruce’s compositions include three full-length operas; five one-act operas; works for orchestra and band; about 300 solo songs; chamber music; documentary film scores; and a choral setting of the Bill of Rights. Recent major works include the dramatic oratorio Circular 14: The Apotheosis of Aristides, for eight soloists, two choruses and large orchestra.

His performances of his complete works for solo piano can be heard on SoundCloud. The West End String Quartet recently premiered his 21 Lines: Pulse Music for Sol LeWitt, at the New Britain Museum of American Art. A scholar of American music, his interests include Anthony Philip Heinrich; Arthur Farwell; music by American women; and The Sacred Harp. Currently he is investigating music in the life and work of Sol LeWitt.

He has been involved in several major premieres, including HPSCHD by John Cage and Lejaren Hiller; Meteor Farm and other spatial works by Henry Brant; and unpublished songs of Charles Ives. Bruce came to Wesleyan in the fall of 1974.

Rich Sokolow is a songwriter and musician whose music has been heard on TV, radio, streaming services, and in the movies. His work with NYC indie artist Clara Lofaro landed a number of high-profile placements, including Just Smile, which was featured in a national TV commercial for Georgia-Pacific’s Vanity Fair Napkins. Rich and cowriter Kelly Riley garnered two placements for their award-winning song You're Beautiful, prominently featured on General Hospital and on Brazil's telenovela series Pega Pega reaching 40+ million viewers. Two of Rich's songs, Send Me a Lifeline, cowritten with Hadassah Zeltzer, and Walk Through the Storm, cowritten with Peter Wostrel, were featured on Lifetime's hit reality series Dance Moms.

Rich was the executive producer and one of the principal songwriters for American Idol finalist Erika Van Pelt's debut album, My Independence which yielded nominations for two New England Music Awards including Album of the Year as well as Rich's second placement on Dance Moms. Rich's collaboration with long time writing partner Peter Wostrel led to songs featured on the Showtime movie Smooth Operator by producer David Rubin as well as the theme song for NECN’s Culinary Encounters with celebrity chef Johnny Ciao.

Rich's music can also be heard on episodes of Inside Amy Schumer, Entertainment Tonight, The Young and the Restless, and other network, cable, and streaming shows.

The first album 'Olivia' (Adhyâropa Records) was released recently. A collection of songs representative of the eclecticism and musical fusion that Pérez-Collellmir professes, exploring jazz, flamenco, classical music and Spanish folk traditions to create a universal sound without borders. 'Olivia' captures the native sounds of Barcelona, her hometown. Original songs composed by the Catalan artist and arrangements of pieces by Maurice Ravel and Frederic Mompou with 'Barcelona' as the centerpiece of the project. She also takes some exotic approaches to India and the Middle East.

“This first album is fulfilling a dream after 10 years since my trip to the United States to study at Berklee. A journey of great dedication, sacrifice and renunciation dedicated completely to playing, acting, studying, researching, composing and educating. The realization of a path of personal search and the result of the creative path of a lifetime. 'Olivia' is the story of this journey. My identity, my voice and my language as an artist are here”. “I can't imagine life without music. Art in general and music in particular are the most direct and connected form of expression of the human soul. Music is my natural language. I need it to breathe, to live and to be happy. I started studying music when I was just 4 years old. It's been a part of me since I can practically remember. The passion started from the first moment,” she added about her philosophy.

Read more about her here - https://www.oliviaperezcollellmir.com/

Mark Kross is an American jazz pianist, composer, and highly experienced educator known for his contributions to the New York City jazz scene and jazz education. He performs regularly in venues around New York City with various groups, including the Sonny Simmons Quintet and the Michael Marcus Quartet. Kross holds a BA in Music from Rutgers, a Masters Degree in Music Education from Lehman College, and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from Stony Brook University, providing a strong academic foundation to his practical experience. His musical style is associated with hard bop, and his active performance years span the 1980s and 1990s and continue into the present.

Beyond performing, Kross has a significant career as an educator and founder of jazz initiatives. Before leaving Massachusetts, he was the Head of the Music Department and Director of the Jazz Program at the Middlesex School for twenty years. In New York City, he and his wife, singer Louise Rogers, founded and direct Jazz WaHi, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides jazz performance and education resources in Washington Heights through festivals, concerts, workshops, and a weekly jam session. Kross has extensive experience participating in jam sessions at renowned clubs worldwide, including Keystone Corner in San Francisco, Smoke in NYC, and Ronnie Scott's in London. He is also a charter member of the Jazz Education Network.

Mark Kross has focused his composing efforts on the marriage of jazz and theatre and contributing to the body of jazz works through education and performance. He is a valued member of the board and faculty for the Jazz Power Initiative, an organization dedicated to spreading jazz across generations.

Joe Mulholland is a professor in the Harmony department at Berklee College of Music. He teaches all the core Harmony classes, as well as the electives Harmony of Brazilian Song, Advanced Harmonic Concepts, Advanced Modal Harmony, and Reharmonization Techniques. He created and teaches the Jazz Composition course and the Music Foundations course for Berklee Online, and gives private Skype lessons in jazz songwriting to students around the world.

In his capacity as chair of the Harmony department (2005-2015) at Berklee, Joe extensively revised the Harmony 2 and 3 workbooks and wrote the Music Application and Theory workbook for first-year students, as well as editing and contributing substantially to the Study Supplement for that course. With his colleague Tom Hojnacki, Joe wrote The Berklee Book of Jazz Harmony (Berklee Press), the new Harmony 2 workbook, and the Harmony 2 Study Supplement.

An accomplished pianist, recording artist, composer, and teacher, Joe has released five albums of original music and has composed electronic scores for Boston-area dance companies, including a Tango Suite commissioned by the Northeast Youth Ballet that received performances in Boston and New Jersey. Joe also performs as a vocal accompanist.

Ken Field is a composer, saxophonist, and flautist. He has received international public and critical acclaim for his solo work, his work with the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble (which he leads), Birdsongs of the Mesozoic, Willie Loco Alexander's Persistence of Memory Orchestra, and the Armenian/ American jazz project Musaner, as well as his commissioned compositions and performances with Bridgman/Packer Dance & Joanie Block's Selmadanse. Field has composed a number of pieces for the children's television program Sesame Street.

He was named a Finalist in Music Composition by the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and currently serves as President of the Board of Directors of JazzBoston and as Chair of the Truro Concert Committee. He is Past President of the Board of Directors of Tutoring Plus of Cambridge and a past member of the Organizing Committee of the HONK! Festival. Field hosts The New Edge, a weekly radio program of creative instrumental music currently airing on WMBR and WOMR, and he co-hosts the bi-weekly show "Trash or Treasure" on WOMR.

Ken Field's Revolutionary Snake Ensemble's 5th album "Serpentine" has been released on Cuneiform Records! Release concerts were at Regattabar, Cambridge, MA and at WellFleet Preservation Hall on Cape Cod.

"Something quite original in the world of jazz and beyond." ----- Kory Cook, KUT Radio, Austin, TX

You can find out more at https://kenfield.org/

Bob Nieske holds a bachelor's and master's of music degree with honors from New England Conservatory. He was a member of legendary saxophonist and clarinetist Jimmy Guiffre’s bands for twelve years and contributed compositions to his critically acclaimed Soul Note recordings.

Bob has recorded or performed with guitarists Charlie Byrd, Duke Robillard, Atilla Zoller, and Larry Coryell, jazz vocalist Dakota Staton, Jackie and Roy, The Either/Orchestra, George Russell’s Living Time Orchestra, David Grisman, and legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli. As a composer and arranger, Bob’s own projects include a suite for jazz trio and the Lydian String Quartet, documented on his critically acclaimed album, “Simplicity.”

Bob is Professor of Practice at Brandeis University and on the Faculty at the New England Conservatory.

You can find out more about Bob Nieske on his website:http://bobnieske.com/

Join interviewer Andrew Celentano for an engaging discussion with guest Bonnie MacLeod. She is a highly versatile and accomplished pianist, entertainer, singer, and composer. Bonnie combines a fascinating and eclectic array of artistic influences in her performances.

Her gifts have brought her around the world including Europe, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and North Africa. She performed regularly at night clubs in New York City, Boston and on cruise ships, as well. You can hear her music on Amazon, Spotify, TikTok, Apple Music, Pandora, Dream Farm Radio and more. Bonnie has played at assisted living facilities in and around Boston, including Cornerstone Living in Canton and Maplewood in Weston.

She features saucy selections like “Peel Me a Grape”, “Mambo Italiano”, “Ten Cents a Dance”, “I’m Tired”, while in tandem her repertoire can be reflective and musically insightful."

You can find out more about her on her website:

https://www.bonniemacleodmusic.com/