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Édith Canat de Chizy is the first female composer to become a member of the Institut de France, elected in 2005 to the Académie des Beaux-Arts, which she presided over in 2017. Her catalog includes over 120 works spanning symphonic, concertante, vocal, and chamber music.

A graduate in art history and philosophy and trained as a violinist, she studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, earning six first prizes, including one in composition.

Introduced to electroacoustic music at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales, she further trained in electronics at IRCAM, composing several mixed works—experiences that deeply influenced her musical language.

Her piece Times, premiered by the BBC Symphony Orchestra, was selected for the finale of the 2009 Besançon International Competition for Young Conductors. Her works have been commissioned by numerous orchestras and institutions, including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, the Orchestre National de France, and the Orchestre de Paris.

Her career is marked by numerous awards, notably the UNESCO International Composers’ Tribune Prize for Yell (1990), several SACEM prizes, and the Grand Prix du Président de la République from the Académie Charles Cros for her complete works.

Florentine Mulsant (born 1962) studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris and the Schola Cantorum, where in 1987 she earned a First Prize in Composition in Allain Gaussin’s class. She further refined her skills with Franco Donatoni at the Academia Chigiana in Siena and with Alain Bancquart, before teaching musical composition at Université Paris IV – Sorbonne (1991–1998).

In 2011, she received the Nadia and Lili Boulanger Prize from the Académie des Beaux-Arts. A laureate of numerous competitions, her works have been commissioned and performed by many soloists, ensembles, and orchestras, including the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, and featured at international festivals in France, across Europe, and abroad.

Her discography includes several recordings of chamber music, piano works, and orchestral pieces (notably the First Symphony for Strings and the 24 Preludes for Piano), as well as recordings from 2007 to 2020 dedicated to her piano works and her Concerto for Piccolo.

She has been composer-in-residence at the Conservatoire de Marseille (2015) and the Festival des Arcs (2018), served as Vice-President of the Symphonic Music Commission at SACEM (2013–2016), and in 2019 received the SACEM Grand Prize for Composer of the Year and the Ordre des Arts et Lettres.

Rooted in the legacy of the 20th-century French school—Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Olivier Messiaen, and Henri Dutilleux—her style emphasizes expressivity, freedom of language, and formal rigor.

Tímea Dragony (born 1976) is a Hungarian composer and laureate of the Béla Bartók–Ditta Pásztory Prize and the Artisjus Prize. She has received numerous competition awards, as well as scholarships from the Hungarian and Spanish Ministries of Culture and the Académie Musicale de Villecroze (France).

Her works have been presented at international festivals, including the SPRING Festival Budapest, the Madrid Contemporary Festival Days, and the Amsterdam Autumn Festival.

She collaborates with leading soloists and orchestras across Europe, with recent premieres performed by ensembles such as the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra (Finland).

Her compositions aim to create an expressive and unique harmonic language, inspired by emotionally resonant experiences.

Mariella Cassar-Cordina is a Maltese composer recognized for her work in acoustic and electroacoustic music. She studied at the University of Malta (music education, administration and management, philosophy of music) before earning a doctorate in composition at Falmouth University, where she was mentored by Christopher Best, Trevor Wiggins, and David Prior. The composer Charles Camilleri also played a significant role in her artistic development.

Her catalog ranges from solo works to orchestral compositions. She has collaborated with numerous musicians and ensembles, notably presenting the concert Crossing Lines (2011) at the Teatru Manoel with the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Brian Schembri. Her career also includes interdisciplinary projects with visual artists, as well as the recording of Waiting for string orchestra by Parma Recordings.

Alongside her compositional work, she is active in music education in Malta, teaching at the University of Malta and founding the Malta Association of Music Educators. She is also co-founder of the Ars Vitae Ensemble and ARTIMUZI.

Véronique Vella is a composer, pianist, and educator. Her works have been performed by the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra, Scottish Opera, the Cosmos Wind Ensemble, and the Edinburgh Quartet. In 2008, she became the first Maltese woman to earn a doctorate in musical composition.

A recipient of two Ian Tomlin Napier Music Scholarships and supported by the Janatha Stubbs Foundation, she studied at Edinburgh Napier University, earning a First-Class Honours degree in Music in 2003 before dedicating herself fully to composition.

Her music is featured on several recordings, notably released by PARMA Recordings and other labels, as well as on two personal albums: One of the Number and 21 Dances for the 21st Century.

Deeply committed to education, she teaches at the University of Malta, collaborates with the ŻfinMalta National Dance Company, and serves as President of the Ian Tomlin Napier Music Scholarships Trust, actively supporting young musicians.

Anna Malek (born 1977) is a pianist, composer, and conductor, based in Spain since 2006. She studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg (piano, composition, theory, and conducting) before earning a Doctorate in Musical Arts at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. She also attended masterclasses with Franco Donatoni and George Crumb.

Her compositions, inspired by painting, cinema, and mathematics, span a wide range of genres, including keyboard works, vocal and chamber music, orchestral pieces, and musical theatre. They have been performed across several European countries, including Poland, Spain, Austria, and Germany.

In parallel, she teaches piano at the Conservatorio Superior de Música Manuel Castillo in Seville and composition, conducting, and music theory at Universidad Loyola. She is currently preparing a monograph with IBS Classical.

Marian Márquez is a Catalan composer and pianist based in Tarragona. After studying at the Conservatori Professional de Vila-seca, she earned a degree in piano and composition at the Conservatori del Liceu. She trained as a pianist with Cecilio Tieles and Ángel Soler and maintained an active performance career until 2014, performing notably in Spain and the Netherlands. In composition, she studied with Manel Oltra, Lluís Vergés, and Carles Guinovart, and participated in masterclasses with composers such as Leonardo Balada and Mauricio Sotelo.

Her works, published by Periferia Música, Dinsic, and Brotons & Mercadal, have been premiered in several countries (Spain, the Netherlands, the United States, Chile, Venezuela) and performed by prestigious soloists and ensembles, notably at the Palau de la Música Catalana and the Gran Teatre del Liceu.

Since 2015, she has also turned to audiovisual composition, after completing a master’s in Audiovisual Media at the Katarina Gurska Center, composing music for documentaries and short films.

Her opera Filles del món, commissioned by the Gran Teatre del Liceu, premiered in 2023 and toured South America in 2024. She is currently working on a new opera, La jove Aïda, also commissioned by the Liceu for the 2025/26 season.