Javy Polanco is a Bronx-born bass-baritone currently studying voice with Rufus Müller at the Bard College Conservatory of Music. A graduate of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, Javy began their musical journey as a flutist and songwriter. They studied at the Jazz Academy at Jazz at Lincoln Center and contributed original music to Carnegie Hall’s Voices of Hope: In Responseproject, which highlighted the life-affirming power of music during times of crisis. Javy is a proud alumnus of the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, where they had the opportunity to perform with the Boston Symphony Orchestra under the baton of John Williams. For Javy, music is a vital expression of identity, and they are committed to amplifying and celebrating multiracial and queer perspectives through both their artistic work and educational pursuits.

Abby Wolf is a 5th year student at Bard College Conservatory of Music where she studies cello performance with Raman Ramakrishnan. She loves different genres of music and has recently dived into improvisation, singing, songwriting, musical theater, and folk music! She was a Teaching Assistant at Big Sur Fiddle Camp and worked as the cellist at the Mac-Haydn Theater this summer. She has performed with Bard’s Contemporary Jazz Composers, Jazz Standards, and US-China Ensembles, and was the cellist for the College Light Opera Company’s 2023 and 2024 seasons. She is very passionate about social justice and loves being a leader of the Musical Mentorship Program where she helps teach students local to Bard and in Kenya. In addition, she will be working with the Bard Human Rights Department in the fall and also interned with For the Many, a grassroots political organization. Her second degree is French Studies with minors in Environmental Studies and Theater and Performance.