Meet the 2027 Panelists

Mary Ellen Childs is a composer and multi-sensory artist based in Minneapolis. She create distinctive sonic worlds and writes for a variety of ensembles: vocal groups, string quartet, solo accordion, opera, chamber groups of every ilk. Her “visual percussion” pieces, created for her ensemble CRASH, embody the concept of music in motion. She often creates gallery installations: her immersive installation NORTH, based on her time in the Arctic, was installed in the B Tunnel at MSP International Airport for several months. Recently she has been combining music and scent, including her installation Aromusic, created for Proyecto ‘ace (Buenos Aires). Childs held artist residencies at Bellagio Center (Italy), Arctic Circle Expedition (Svalbard), Nawat Fes (Morocco), and others. She is a United States Artist Fellow, and has received grants/commissions from Opera America, Kronos Quartet, Walker Art Center, Fromm Foundation, MAP Fund, Bush Foundation, McKnight Foundation, and Creative Capital.

Mary Kouyoumdjian is a GRAMMY®-nominated composer/documentarian with projects ranging from concert works to multimedia collaborations. As a first-generation Armenian-American and having come from a family directly affected by the Lebanese Civil War and Armenian Genocide, her work often integrates recorded testimonies with resilient individuals and field recordings of place to invite empathy by humanizing complex experiences around socio-political conflict. A finalist for the 2024 Pulitzer Prize in Music, she has received commissions from such organizations as the Kronos Quartet, New York Philharmonic, Carnegie Hall, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Alarm Will Sound, Beth Morrison Projects, and Bang on a Can. Her debut portrait album, WITNESS, was released with the Kronos Quartet in 2025, and her opera, Adoration, was nominated for a 2025 GRAMMY® Award for Best Opera Recording. Her next album, Paper Pianos (Pulitzer Prize-finalist in Music) is out on Cantaloupe Music in August 2026.

Nur-D is the embodiment of the word Eclectic.

Award winning Hip-Hop Performer, Professional D&D Player, Emmy Winner, Professional Wrestler, Community Activist, the list goes on and on. Since exploding onto the MN Hip-Hop scene in 2018 Nur-D has never been far from the conversation when it comes to some of the big talent coming out of the Twin Cities.

With 10 full length albums, a massive two night residency with the Grammy Award Winning MN Orchestra, and over a million streams under his belt Nur-D vows to make music for anyone who has ever felt a little different.

Alicia Waller is a genre-expanding vocalist, composer, and bandleader recognized for a contemporary fusion sound. With a background as an operatic soprano, she emerged into original work at the intersection of jazz, soul, and vernacular music with the release of her E.P., “Some Hidden Treasure,” in 2020. Known for the luminous warmth of her voice, Waller creates a rich, expressive tapestry that has been praised as a synthesis of splendor, creativity, and depth.

Highlights include the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Kennedy Center, and BRIC Arts Media House. She received her undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland and graduate degree from New York University, Gallatin School of Individualized Study.

Waller has been honored to receive institutional acknowledgements from Chamber Music America, the NYC Women’s Fund, NYSCA, American Composers Forum, and New Music USA. Her first full-length studio album “Louder, Then” was released on May 29.