Isabella Bi and Won Jong Win 2026 Charles S. Miller Award

The Department of Music is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2026 prizes for distinction in Music Composition, awarded annually to undergraduate and graduate students who demonstrate distinction in the area of Music Composition, as determined by a committee of faculty members in the Composition area.

Isabella Bi and Won Jong have won the 2026 Charles S. Miller Awards (undergraduate). The Charles S. Miller Award is given annually to students in the field of Music Composition who, in the opinion of the Faculty, have achieved distinction of the highest standard.

Isabella Bi is a New York–based composer and songwriter whose work centers on screen scoring. Her music combines electronic and instrumental elements, drawing on both Western compositional techniques and her background in Chinese musical traditions.

Originally trained as a violinist, she later transitioned into composition, developing a strong interest in storytelling through music. Her work explores how sound shapes emotion, narrative, and atmosphere, often blending cinematic language with contemporary production.

At Columbia University, Isabella has composed original scores for multiple short films, animations, and games, working closely with directors to develop distinct musical identities for each project. Her recent works include the game scores Feather Frenzy, Luminous Stream, and Fallen Angel; the short film scores My Little Artist and The Borrowed; and the pop songs I Am Not Yours and NPC. She is currently preparing an album featuring these works, to be released later this year.

She will pursue graduate studies in screen scoring at New York University and aims to continue developing music for film, games, and other visual media.

EN:
Won JONG [b. 2003] is a composer whose work reflects an attentiveness to fragile and failing motions, imperceptible muscular activity, as well as the extremes of taciturnity, austerity, and interiority. His music often draws inspiration from literature, architecture, and the visual arts. Jong’s works have been performed across North America, Europe, and Asia by ensembles such as Yarn/Wire, ekmeles, Ensemble PHACE, and Hypercube. In addition, Jong frequently extends his line of work to interdisciplinary collaborations with various artists, filmmakers, and choreographers.

A recipient of Columbia University’s 2025 Boris and Eda Rapoport Prize, Jong is currently studying composition at Columbia College (B.A. in music) where he has been mentored thus far by Marcos Balter, Zosha Di Castri, and Georg Friedrich Haas.

KR:
2003 년 서울에서 출생한 작곡가 정원[鄭遠]의 작품은 육체의 비가시적[非可視的]인
움직임과 더불어 침묵, 산재[散在]와 밀착도, 여백, 그리고 내밀함의 극한의 대한 그의 깊은
사색을 반영하고 있다. 그는 문학을 비롯해 건축, 시각예술 등 다양한 분야에서 영감을 받는다.
그의 작품은 북미, 유럽, 아시아 지역에서 연주되었고, 그는 얀/와이어, 에크멜레스 앙상블,
앙상블 페이스, 하이퍼큐브 등의 음악가들을 비롯해 다양한 예술가, 영화 제작자, 그리고
암무가들과의 위촉ㆍ연주 작업을 이어가고 있다.
컬럼비아 대학교의 2025 년 보리스ㆍ이다 라파포트 상 수상자인 정원은 현재 동 대학에서
마르코스 발터, 조샤 디 카스트리, 게오르그 프리드리히 하스 교수들의 지도하에
음악전공학사 과정을 진행 중이다.