Ean Ateh Ayuk is an 18-year-old composer from Burtonsville, Maryland, currently studying engineering at Penn State Harrisburg. He has been a lover of music throughout his life, and a creator for much of it. Since the 4th grade, he has composed in a variety forms and genres, ranging from jazz to hip-hop to electronic to classical. His formal education began with piano lessons from his church’s organist, who was among the first to recognize his knack for composition, and who provided him with the tools to get where he is now. Ean has also received tremendous support from faculty at his high school, and it was there that his music was first heard by an audience, in the form of an original soundtrack created to accompany their spring play. This experience introduced him to the bliss of sharing music on a large scale and instilled in him the conviction that his artistic voice is worthy of being heard. Ean is tied to the valley through his older sister, Lena Ayuk, a role-model, a one-of-a-kind soul, a loving human, a Roanoke resident, and a singer with the RSO Choir. He is unspeakably grateful to her, Maestro Wiley, the Roanoke Symphony, and everyone involved in making this performance possible.