Tim Whalen, Dan Cavanagh, Marco Reyes, Mabel Kwan

BlueStem Jazz Piano Summit.

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Dan Cavanagh is a composer and pianist who has garnered numerous awards in both areas. In 2023 he was awarded the Social Justice Prize in Wind Ensemble Composition as well as 2nd Prize in the American Prize for Composition in the Wind Symphony/Band Category. He received a 2009 gold medal prize from the International Music Prize for Excellence in Composition, and in 2017 he was awarded a Special Judges’ Citation in the American Prize for Chamber Music Composition. As a composer Cavanagh has been commissioned to write for Latin Grammy-winning AfroBop Alliance, the legendary Patti LaBelle, and a wide range of classical and jazz performers across North America and Europe. He has released five jazz recordings as a leader, including Pulse and Heart of the Geyser on Seattle’s OA2 Records, and two recordings with Minnesota-based vibraphonist Dave Hagedorn, Horizon and 20 Years. His most recent recording with James Miley and John Hollenbeck was released on Japan’s S/N Alliance Records in November 2022 to critical acclaim. His music can be heard on many other recordings both classical and jazz. His film scoring work can be heard in the documentary The Beat Hotel, a film exploring the hotel in Paris in the late 1950s and early 1960s where the beat poets, led by Allen Ginsberg, lived and created much of their famous work.

Pianist Mabel Kwan is a performer of classical, improvised, and experimental music. She is fascinated by sound, contradictions, and our perceptions of what is familiar or strange.

Mabel regularly tours the U.S. with improvised music group Restroy, synthesizer duo Mega Laverne and Shirley, and electronic/instrumental trio ULUUUL. She sings vocals for the Lucky Bikes, plays piano with Fifth Season, and is a chamber musician for Bridging Memory through Music, a therapeutic intervention for patients with dementia. Mabel volunteers for TECHNE, an organization that works with young girls to build electronic instruments and improvise using music technology.

A founding member of Ensemble Dal Niente, Mabel champions the music of living composers and has performed in festivals and universities throughout North America, South America, and Europe. She performed with Dal Niente at the Darmstadt International Summer Courses when the ensemble received the 2012 Kranichstein Music Prize for interpretation. She has worked with Hans Abrahamsen, Carola Bauckholt, Chaya Czernowin, Brian Ferneyhough, Augusta Read Thomas, George Lewis, and Enno Poppe among others.

Since 2009 Mabel has lived in Chicago. She is a 2018 High Concept Labs Artist, 2017 3Arts Awardee, and received 2016 and 2013 Individual Artist Project grants from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs for commissioning new works and producing concerts throughout the city.

Marco Reyes - I first got involved with Music Makers at age 5. Growing up with WYSO (Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra), I never quite pushed myself to get more involved. But last year, I joined Creative Ensemble and it completely opened my eyes. I got into composing during the early years, my piano instructor, Paul Hastil, introduced me to basic musical concepts and reading music. The first half of my piano career was simply focused on the fundamentals. But at a certain point, my piano teacher saw my potential, so he decided to introduce me to jazz improvisation. Throughout the years of learning improvisation, I started to understand the different techniques that would allow for me to express myself through music. In my sophomore and junior years of high school, I began to take a much stronger interest in music, which led me to play pieces by ear. What really solidified things for me was when I once combined four different songs into one big piece of music by using their specific, unique features. This was when I realized that what I was doing was more like composing than just playing piano. At the time, I knew that I’d been improving as a musician; but as someone who mostly plays by ear and memorization, I had developed a case of imposter syndrome. It wasn’t until I went to the UW Summer Music Clinic – and joined the Music Makers Creative Ensemble – that I began to receive praise by other musicians. Which led me to think that maybe this isn’t luck – maybe my playing had started to become a real skill. Around junior year of high school, I listened to every genre of music imaginable, which gave me inspiration and the ability to learn from other artists even if their sound was outside of my typical liking. I’m not afraid when it comes to making a mistake. Music should be fun and expressive.I would also say that experimenting will only help you learn. Something that my piano teacher would always say while I composed was, “Pretend you’re a scientist. Put on your lab coat and experiment.” 

Milwaukee native Tim Whalen is a highly versatile jazz pianist, keyboard player, producer, composer, arranger, and educator. His passion and dedication to his art shine in everything he touches. He’s played all over the world and has written music for everything from solo pieces to orchestras.  From 2010 to late 2023, Tim was a member of the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own” in Washington, DC,  where he served as keyboard player, arranger, and music director for the pop / commercial music group Downrange. Outside of the Army Band, he was deeply involved in the DC music scene, where he played with the finest musicians in the area, including Lena Seikaly, Tommy Cecil, Chuck Redd, Paul Pieper, Tedd Baker, Lyle Link, Kenny Rittenhouse, Kris Funn, Elijah Jamal Balbed, Donvonte McCoy, Victor Provost, Mark Prince, Zack Pride, Tom Baldwin, Paul Langosch, The Bohemian Caverns Jazz Orchestra, and others. As a highly respected bandleader, his groups have presented sold-out concerts at Blues Alley, The Kennedy Center, Twins Jazz, the Smithsonian, and the Strathmore Music Center.  In late 2023, Tim returned home to Milwaukee and quickly re-established himself as a musical force in the Midwest. Beyond the Washington, DC, and Milwaukee areas, Tim has played with David “Fathead” Newman, Ernie Adams, Fred Wesley, Wessell Anderson, Ambrose Akinmusire, Jon Hendricks, Vic Juris, Richard Davis, Dennis Irwin, Tim Ries, Clyde Stubblefield, Bones Malone, Jackie Allen, Ben Sidran, Jorge Drexler, Marcus Belgrave, and Andy Martin.

“He is an exceptional player who fully understands the jazz language and is fully conversant with all genres of the music.” - Kenny Barron

Whalen is also highly regarded as a composer, arranger, orchestrator, and music producer. In 2005, he orchestrated the string arrangement for the Oscar-winning song “El Otro Lado del Rio” by Jorge Drexler from the film The Motorcycle Diaries. Tim has also written music for commercials, and his music for the DeJope Bingo ad campaign won an Addy award in Wisconsin. Versatility is so important these days, and he is equally at home writing music for an orchestra as he is writing for a jazz quintet. In March 2009, he premiered an orchestra commission for the Cobb Symphony in Atlanta, where they played the music of The Who featuring a 5-piece rock band accompanied by a 60-piece orchestra.