2026 Aspen Contemporary Ensemble Class

Xin Yi Chong | Percussion

University of Michigan

Xin Yi Chong is a percussionist with a versatile and collaborative practice across chamber and orchestral settings. She has performed as a chamber musician at Frequency Festival Chicago, Bang on a Can Long Play, Karajan-Akademie, and Grafenegg Academy. As an orchestral musician, she regularly performs as principal timpanist with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra and appears with the Ann Arbor, Toledo, and Jackson Symphony Orchestras. Her ongoing commissioning project, "Tahniah", will showcase new works by Malaysian composers. Xin Yi has been a member of the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble since 2025 and is currently a doctoral student at the University of Michigan.

Laura Gamboa | Violin

University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music

Laura Gamboa is a Colombian American violinist who received a doctoral degree in violin performance at the University of Southern California under Martin Chalifour, concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, with minors in music theory, viola performance, and jazz violin. Gamboa received a Bachelor’s Degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music and a Master’s Degree in Violin Performance as a fellowship recipient from the University of Michigan. This is her tenth summer at Aspen, where she has received the New Horizons Fellowship and the Contemporary Ensemble fellowship. In December 2025, Gamboa was placed in the Minnesota Orchestra substitute pool.

Maya Irizarry Lambright | Violin

University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music

Maya Irizarry Lambright is a violinist and composer from West Hartford, Connecticut whose work centers on contemporary and collaborative performance. Maya has performed with ensembles including Wild Up, the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, the International Chamber Orchestra of Puerto Rico, and the salsa band Las Mariquitas. As a chamber musician, they tour with the Eris Quartet and Elara Trio, winners of the 2025 Ofiesh Chamber Competition. In 2024, Maya won the Oberlin Concerto Competition performing Shulamit Ran’s Violin Concerto. Maya holds a BM from Oberlin Conservatory and an MM from the Thornton School of Music.

Ian McEdwards | Clarinet

Yale University

Based in New Haven, Ian McEdwards is a clarinetist and contemporary musician. He has premiered the duo version of Zachary Good’s Lake Heritage at the Frequency Festival, and has performed separately in Bang on a Can’s Long Play Festival. Ian has performed concerti by Elliott Carter and Anders Hillborg, the latter being featured on PBS and WQXR. Among his orchestral work, he has performed with the Lucerne Festival’s LFCO and the New World Symphony. A Yamaha Young Performing Artist, Ian is currently pursuing his M.M. from Yale, where he is also the clarinetist and cofounder of new music collective, SOLARIS.

Lukas Munsell | Bass

Rice University, Shepherd School of Music

Lukas Munsell is the current double bass fellow for the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble. He is currently pursuing his Master of Music at the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University under the tutelage of Paul Ellison. Before attending Rice, he received his Bachelor of Music degree in Double Bass Performance at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music under Tracy Rowell, where he premiered several new works and commissions for the Oberlin Orchestra and Contemporary Music Ensemble. He has attended prestigious festivals such as Domaine Forget de Charlevoix in Quebec, Canada, as well as the National Orchestral Institute.

Miles Reed | Cello

University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music

A laureate of the 2025 Klein International String Competition, Miles Reed is a cellist of remarkable creativity and passion. Committed to representing living composers, Miles has premiered new works in the Aspen Contemporary Ensemble, Elara Trio, Thornton Edge, and the Oberlin Contemporary Music Ensemble. Miles has performed as a soloist with the San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Aspen Music Festival Percussion Ensemble, and Oberlin Sinfonietta, with whom he premiered Katya Mueller’s cello concerto. His primary mentors include Ralph Kirshbaum, Dmitry Kouzov, and Brent Selby. Miles performs on an instrument by E. Simoutre et Fils, generously on loan from the Virtu Foundation.

Seth Schultheis | Piano

Royal Academy of Music

Seth Schultheis is an American pianist based in London, currently an Aud Jebsen Fellow at the Royal Academy of Music. Seth recently achieved success in the 2025 Telekom Beethoven Competition in Bonn, winning First Prize and the Special Prize for Chamber Music.

Performance highlights in 2026 include solo recitals throughout Europe and the UK at such venues as Hatfield House and Wigmore Hall. Concerto appearances include the second, third, and fourth concertos of Beethoven at Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Beethovenhalle Bonn, amongst other notable venues throughout Germany. Seth studied primarily with Phillip Kawin, Solomon Mikowsky, and Mei-Ting Sun.

Antonina Styczen | Flute

University of Southern California, Thornton School of Music

Polish flutist Antonina Styczen is dedicated to contemporary music and collaboration with emerging composers. Working across classical, jazz, and improvisatory traditions, she regularly commissions and premieres new works by emerging composers. First Prize winner of the National Flute Association Young Artist Competition, she is also active in film recording and recently performed on Cada Minuto Cuenta by Pedro Osuna, whose soundtrack was nominated for the 2025 Latin Grammy Award for Best Music for Visual Media. She is a Doctor of Musical Arts candidate in flute performance at the USC Thornton School of Music focusing on music, politics, and cultural identity.

Hannah Wendorf | Viola

Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music

A violist specializing in contemporary music, Hannah Wendorf has performed with ensembles including New Century Chamber Orchestra, Kronos Quartet, Post:ballet, and the IU and SFCM New Music Ensembles, and has premiered over 20 works. Also a passionate chamber musician, she was selected for the Pacifica Quartet’s advanced quartet seminar, and was a finalist in the 2022 Saint Paul String Quartet Competition. Their previous summer studies include Bowdoin International Music Festival, ENCORE Chamber Music Institute, and Brevard Music Center. Hannah holds degrees from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and Indiana University, studying with Dimitri Murrath and Atar Arad.