Elender
Wall is well-versed in both standard and non-standard
vocal repertoire. A champion of the music of living composers,
she has had many new works written for her. She performs art
songs, chamber music, and operas and has appeared throughout
the United States.
Ms.
Wall has built a career by performing new music. Recently,
she toured the United States with the Sonos Handbell Ensemble,
singing Hell’s Belles by Libby Larsen and other
works. She has performed in new operas, singing the roles
of Mistress Quickly in Gordon Getty’s Plump Jack
and the Fairy Godmother in Michael Matsumoto’s Cinderella
in Extremis. She has also been involved in a number of
short films, appearing both on-screen and on soundtracks.
Multi-talented,
Ms. Wall is accomplished in areas outside of music as well.
She is co-author of a college physics textbook and is a professional
belly dancer. She holds a degree from the San Francisco Conservatory
of Music and a second degree in physics from San Francisco
State University.
Bryant
Kong is a composer, pianist, and humorist. He is
the founder of Stuffed Penguin Music
and serves as its President and CEO. A specialist in neglected
classical repertoire—particularly the music of American
composer Edward MacDowell—he performs in solo piano
and chamber music concerts. The
Poetry of Donald Rumsfeld is his first song cycle.
An
entrepreneur by nature, Mr. Kong has built his career by creating
initiatives to solve unmet needs. When his college did not
have a concerto competition, he assembled his own orchestra
so that he could perform one. Recently, he founded Stuffed
Penguin to bring music neglected by the classical music industry
to listeners neglected by that industry. Mr. Kong has supported
other new initiatives, for example competing in the inaugural
International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs
held by the Van Cliburn Foundation in Fort Worth, TX.
An
avid sportsman, Mr. Kong won a medal in international track
and field competition at Gay Games V, Amsterdam, the Netherlands,
and completed the California International Marathon in a driving
winter rainstorm. He holds an MBA from the UCLA Anderson School
and a BA from Carleton College, Northfield, MN.
