Carmean Music Series

Lia Ouyang Rusli (fka Robert) (they/them) is a film composer & musician based in Brooklyn, N.Y. They recently wrote the music to A24’s Problemista, HBO’s Fantasmas series, Disney’s PHOTOGRAPHER, and the Gotham Award and Independent Spirit nominated films Test Pattern (Kino Lorber) and Bruiser (Hulu). They also scored short films Bambirak and Rest Stop which won Jury Awards for International Fiction and US Fiction at Sundance. They are the recipient of the Van Lier Fellowship for Music Composition, Pioneer Works Music Residency, and BAFTA USA Breakthrough Fellowship.

Under their solo moniker OHYUNG, they produce genre-shifting music that moves between ambient, experimental pop, and distorted noise. Their most recent record imagine naked! is a collection of ambient soundscapes out now on NNA tapes and was described by The Quietus as a “masterful selection of muscular, shuddering, trembling ambient excursions” and was hailed by NPR as one of the best 50 albums of 2022.

Chad is sought after as a Broadway, recording artist, and concert performer from New York to
Los Angeles. He has been a member of the Broadway orchestras of Wicked, Legally Blonde,
Follies, Christmas Story: The Musical, and the Radio City Christmas Spectacular.

He has performed with many prestigious orchestras, including the Los Angeles Film Orchestra,
Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Mostly Mozart
Festival, American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, New York Pops, American Symphony,
New Jersey Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, The Knights and the Albany Symphony.
Chad has shared the stage with Paquito D’Rivera, Vince Giordano, Jennifer Hudson, Tony
Bennett, Johnny Mathis, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, John Pizzarelli, The Temptations, Arturo
Sandoval, Lady Gaga, Bernadette Peters, and Audra McDonald.

His movie credits include Star Wars: The Last Jedi, West Side Story, Strays, Under the Boardwalk,
The Bubble, Secret Life Of Pets 2, Little, Us Again, Strays, The Informant!, Ted 2, Beanie Bubble,
Fool’s Paradise, Extremely Close and Incredibly Loud, I Saw the Light, and Monsters University. Mr.
Smith has been featured on television in Legally Blonde on MTV, The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day
Parade, Grease on Fox, The Wiz and Hairspray on NBC, the Tony Awards on CBS, and the
Academy Awards on ABC. You can also hear Chad on the TV shows Family Guy, American Dad,
Ted, Legends of Tomorrow, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Flash, Star Trek: The New World, Lucifer,
Gremlins, Smash, The Simpsons, and Fosse/Verdon.

Chad has created Sax-O-Philm: Sounds and Sight’s of the 20’s. Sax-O-Philm highlights the music
of sax pioneer Rudy Wiedoeft accompanied by piano, harp and silent films, which he premiered
at the 15th World Saxophone Congress in Bangkok. This past summer, Sax-O-Philm grew to a
fully-orchestrated show premiered by Chad and the Broadway Chamber Players. To learn more
about this exciting, entertaining and educational show, visit saxophilm.com.

Chad is an adjunct professor of saxophone at Montclair State University and founder/advisor of
the Masters in Woodwind Doubling Program and Montclair Broadway Institute in the summer.
He is a Selmer Artist and D’Addario Clinician, and proudly performs on his mentor’s Al Gallodoro
and Ted Hegvik’s gold-plated saxophones.

His upcoming projects include a recording on saxophone orchestral excerpts for Summit
Records and a saxophone and orchestra project with John Wilson featuring the music of 1920’s
saxophone virtuoso, Rudy Wiedoeft.

A truly versatile artist, pianist David Berry has established a multi-faceted career as a concert performer, arranger, educator, and speaker. Berry’s performances as a concert pianist have been featured in prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall, and in live broadcasts of WQXR radio (New York). Berry was the grand prize winner of the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition and a prize winner of the Thousand Islands International Piano Competition. He has been featured as a soloist, performing works of Chopin for the Kosciuszko Foundation, and music of Cuban composer and pianist Joaquin Nin for the Cervantes Institute. Berry’s performances and invitations as a concerto soloist have crossed a wide span of repertoire ranging from Brahms’ Piano Concerto no.1 (The Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival Orchestra) to Yamekraw: An Ebony Rhapsody by Harlem Stride pianist James P. Johnson (The Harlem Chamber Players). As a performer of new music Berry has premiered works by noted composers James Lee III and Adolphus Hailstork, as well as collaborated with composer Jennifer Higdon. Berry was a featured soloist in the Juilliard School’s Focus Festival, All About Elliot, celebrating the 100th birthday of Elliot Carter.

An avid chamber musician, Berry has toured as a resident member of the Ritz Chamber Players, performing with the group in series such as the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society Concerts at the Kimmel Center, and the Meany Center for the Performing Arts Concert Series at the University of Washington. Berry has also toured as a member of the innovative chamber music-theater group, the Core Ensemble, presenting plays based on the lives of African-American and Latin historical figures at universities across the United States.

A sought after and talented arranger, Berry’s virtuoso concert piano arrangements of spirituals such as Joshua Fought the Battle of Jericho, have been performed across the United States, including in the Untold Stories Piano Competition at Brigham Young University and by the Massachusetts-based Tiny Glass Tavern Ensemble. In addition to his concert arrangements, Berry recently published a book of solo piano hymn arrangements in 2024 with the Lorenz Corporation. A frequent adjudicator, masterclass clinician, and presenter whose presentations often focuses on utilizing multi-style improvisation and creating original piano arrangements, his work in these areas has been featured at institutions and organizations such as the University of Georgia, the University of Memphis, Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, and the Virginia, Utah, and Dallas Music Teacher Associations.

Berry is Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Music Department at Eastern Mennonite University, where he also serves as Interim Associate Dean for the School of Theology, Humanities, and the Performing Arts. Berry also serves as the Artistic Director of the Shenandoah Valley Bach Festival, and as Chair of the Artistic Programs Committee of the Gateways Music Festival.

Berry received his Bachelor of Music with High Distinction from the Eastman School of Music, and Masters and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in piano performance from the Juilliard School.

Renowned for their commanding vocals and unique sound, the critically acclaimed British vocal ensemble APOLLO5 demonstrates how impressive five voices alone can be. Showcasing unparalleled individual talent while creating an immaculate blend, APOLLO5 captivates audiences across genres including jazz, pop, classical, and early sacred music, establishing a deep connection through their performances and education workshops.