Stefan Weisman creates playful and brooding soundscapes described by Anthony Tommasini (New York Times) as "personal, moody and skillfully wrought." His works include chamber, orchestral and choral pieces. He has specialized in vocal music that explores edgy and compelling topics.  His one act opera Fade was commissioned by Second Movement and premiered in London in 2008.  His opera Darkling, commissioned by American Opera Projects, was included in the Guggenheim Museum's Works & Process series, premiered to great acclaim at the Classic Stage Company and toured Europe in 2007. Among his other commissions are works for Bang on a Can, Sequitur, and the Empire City Men's Choir. A graduate of Bard College and Yale University, he is a PhD candidate at Princeton University. His composition instructors include David Lang, Joan Tower, Martin Bresnick, Steven Mackey, and Paul Lansky. Presently, he is on the faculty of the Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program, and the Music Department of the City College, CCNY. For more info: www.stefanweisman.com.

David Cote is an author, playwright, librettist, essayist, critic, blogger and editor. Since 2003, he has been theater editor and chief drama critic for Time Out New York. Mr. Cote’s writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Times (UK), Opera News, Maxim, and The Best Plays Theater Yearbook. He is a member of the New York Drama Critics Circle and appears as a contributing critic on NY1’s On Stage. His popular companion books to Broadway musicals include Wicked, Jersey Boys and Spring Awakening. Since its release, Wicked: The Grimmerie has been a bestselling performing arts book on Amazon.com. He serves as Public Dramaturge for Montclair State University’s international Peak Performance series. He is working on an original full-length play commissioned by Gingold Theatrical Group, as well as libretti with composers Stefan Weisman and Robert Paterson. Previously, he was an actor and director. In the 1990s he appeared in works by avant-garde auteurs Richard Foreman, Richard Maxwell, Robert Cucuzza, Iranian expatriate auteur Assurbanipal Babilla, and others. He founded and edited the ’zines OFF: the journal of alternative theater (1996-98) and EdgeNY (1999). He keeps a blog at http://histriomastix.typepad.com.