© OTC New Music Ensemble 2010
Bryan Rudderow, Executive Director/Co-Founder
Versatile musician and educator, Bryan Rudderow has quickly developed into an artist to watch. Bryan has been called a musician with, “taste, tone quality, technical security and assertiveness” by Classical New Jersey. He recently completed his stint with the John J. Cali School of Music at Montclair State University where he was named Assistant Conductor of Instrumental Ensembles, all while earning a Master’s of Music in Composition/Theory and Conducting.
As a composer, Bryan has received commissions from Montclair State University, the Halcyon Trio, The Wednesday Club, and the African Zulu Choir Thula Sizwe to name a few. In April 2009, the commissioned work Te Amo for Soprano and Chamber Orchestra received it’s premiere with the Penn State Chamber Orchestra.
As a Clarinetist, Bryan was the winner of the John J. Cali School of Music Concerto Competition in 2007, and also worked as Principal Clarinetist with the New Jersey Philharmonic, Bloomfield Symphony Orchestra, and High Mountain Symphony Orchestra to name a few. Bryan has been a participant or instructor in masterclasses of the Kronos Quartet, Mark Nuccio, Pasquale Martinez-Forteza and at Manhattan School of Music, Montclair State, William Paterson and Drew Universities.
As a conductor, Bryan has lead the Greater Princeton Area Youth Orchestras, where he has served as the Cover Conductor, and has worked with the TRANSIT Ensemble, New York. In the Summer of 2008, Bryan was invited to the Instituto Superior de Arte del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Argentina to study conducting and composition with the preeminent musician, Maestro Bruno D’Astoli.
When not composing or working for the OTC, Bryan is the Operations Manager of the New Jersey Youth Symphony and maintains a private studio throughout Northern New Jersey.
Michael Sperone, Artistic Director/Co-Founder
Michael Sperone's musical endeavors are ambitious and wide ranging. His recent hour long multimedia work “Uncertain Occasions” was premiered in 2006 with the aid of a grant from William Paterson University. He is currently performing with his new solo project Tintinnabulation, which involves glockenspiel, homemade computer software, and cymbal. Other recent endeavors include a full length solo “pop” album, and new works for iKtus Percussion, Composers Anonymous, and Peter Jarvis.
Michael Sperone was born and raised in a bustling New York City suburb. His composing style has
been shaped by wide ranging influences with musical influences including early 90's indie rock, postwar serialist composers, and contemporary "jazz". Michael also cites non-musical sources of
inspiration, including Bill Watterson's “Calvin and Hobbes”, physics, and linguistics.
He received his undergraduate degree from William Paterson University as a Classical Percussion
major. Here he studied with Raymond DesRoches, Gary Van Dyke, and Peter Jarvis among others. He began performing with the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, in residence at William Paterson, and eventually went on to co-found Absolute Percussion and New Music Unit with fellow students. It was here that he also first began composing seriously, with the guidance and support of Dr.'s David Weisberg, John Link, and Jeffery Kresky.
Michael is a founding member of On The Cusp New Music Ensemble, New Music Unit, and
Composers Anonymous as both composer and performer. As a performer, he's appeared with the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, High Mountain Symphony, South Orange Symphony, Newband, Mad Coyote, and premiered works by Steven Ruel, Ron Mazurek, Payton MacDonald, Josh Lopes, and Nina Goede. As a composer he's had his works premiered by the New Jersey Percussion Ensemble, Joe Bergen, New Music Unit, and Justin Wolf. He has upcoming works that will be premiered by iKtus Percussion, and Composers Anonymous. Michael's music is published by Calabrese Brothers Music, LLC.
