Jason V. Barabba is a composer and non-profit arts administrator in Los Angeles. As a composer he has an affinity for collaboration, especially with authors (living and dead) whose work inspires thoughtfulness, intelligence, and emotional investment in the listener. He prefers to tell a story with his work even when there’s no text or specific drama indicated. In a nod to his theatrical side, he frequently incorporates text spoken by singers, actors, and instrumentalists, to convey his ideas. Works by a diverse range of authors including Ursula K. Le Guin, Tao Lin, Helen Keller, Herman Melville, Christopher Durang, David Bartone, Terry Pratchett and even his own father and great aunt have all inspired his compositional process. Le Guin has said of Barabba’s work, “Some composers use words as raw material. Like Schubert or Vaughan-Williams, he collaborates with them…the texture of the music and the tension in it are wonderfully effective; it’s spare and airy, but strong.”