Dr. E. Michael Richards has received a 2010 Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council. During 2009 he served as an Artist in Residence with the Verge Ensemble at “June in Buffalo,” and presented performances with percussionist Thomas Goldstein on the Rive-Gauche Concert Series in Turin, Italy, and as a soloist/chamber musician at the Spark Festival (Minneapolis), New York Computer Music Festival (New York), Festival of New American Music (Sacramento), and at the G. Nicolini Conservatorio in Piacenza, Italy.

Dr. Stuart Saunders Smith’s “Links Series of Vibraphone Essays” was released on 2 compact discs by New World Records in 2009. In addition, an article by Dr. Smith, “A Composer’s Mosaic: Selected Entries from the Composing Journals of Stuart Saunders Smith” was published in the music journal Ex Tempore. A new work, “7 Seasons” for mezzo-soprano and vibraphone, received it’s first performance in Gothenberg, Sweden.

Dr. Airi Yoshioka can be heard playing with ModernWorks on a CD of the String Quartets No. 1, 4, and 5 by Ge Gan-ru, released by Naxos Records in July, 2009. Among her many concerts in New York during 2009 were a solo performance of Vieuxtemps' Concerto No. 5 with the COSM Orchestra, and orchestral programs as concertmaster of the Festival Orchestra at the Skaneateles Music Festival in upstate NY during August. In addition, she participated in various chamber music festivals including The Park City International Music Festival (Utah), and Scotia Festival (Halifax, Canada).

Dr. Yoshioka has also received a 2010 Individual Artist Award from the Maryland State Arts Council.