Maritza N. Estrada is an MFA candidate in Poetry at Arizona State University, an associate editor at Hayden's Ferry Review, and holds a BFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) from the University of Nebraska Omaha. She is the recipient of the 2019 Virginia G. Piper Creative Research Fellowship, winner of the Mabelle A. Lyon Poetry Award, and alumna in Winter Tangerine's workshop at Poets House. Her work can be found in Río Grande Review, Blue Mesa Review, The Flat Waters Stirs: An Anthology of Emerging Nebraska Poets, Misbehaving Nebraskans Anthology, and 13th Floor Magazine. Estrada was born in Washington, raised in Nebraska, and is marking residencia in Arizona.
Bethany Brown is a composer, photographer, and filmmaker based in Los Angeles and Arizona. As a composer, Bethany's music ranges from solo works to film scores and is often inspired by the way meaning is created through place and physical spaces. Bethany currently works for Mythical Entertainment on the YouTube show "Good Mythical Morning" in Los Angeles. Previously, she held a full-time position as Manager of Education, Youth and Community Programs for Arizona Musicfest, where she enjoyed lecturing and teaching youth and adult music classes. She previously served as the Secretary for ASU's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts Alumni Board and as a board member for the North Valley Arts Academy within the Paradise Valley School District. Bethany is the 2018-2019 Composition Fellow for Street Symphony, an organization that brings authentic engagement between professional artists and communities disenfranchised by homelessness and incarceration in LA. Most recently, Bethany's choral piece "Meditation for a Beautiful City" was performed at Street Symphony's "Messiah Project" concert in December 2018 by the Street Symphony Chamber Singers (members of the Los Angeles Chorale) and the Urban Voices Project (comprised of Skid Row community members). Bethany holds degrees in Filmmaking and Music Composition from Barrett, the Honors College at Arizona State University and currently studies composition under Reena Esmail. www.bethanybrowncreative.com @bethanybrowncreative
Emily Botts is a high lyric soprano, originally from Kansas City. Emily has a Master’s Degree in Opera performance from Arizona State University and a Bachelor’s degree in Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri- Kansas City Conservatory of Music. Ms. Botts has recently sung opera roles such as: Tatyana, Eugene Onegin (Tchaikovsky); Marie, The Bartered Bride (Smetana); Musetta, La bohéme (Puccini); Zerlina, Don Giovanni (Mozart), and Frasquita, Carmen (Bizet). Young Artist programs that Emily has sung with include: Russian Opera Workshop in Philadelphia, PA; Utah Vocal Arts Academy in Provo, Utah; and the American Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria. Emily currently resides in Tempe, Arizona performing and teaching voice lessons.