Ariel Sol “Ari” Bertulfo Schwartz (2000) is at the cutting edge of musical arts as a composer, producer, and harpist. In his music, Ari aims to create community through person-oriented performance experiences. He thoroughly enjoys interdisciplinary work, drawing inspiration from modern media, storytelling, linguistics, sociology, and current events. In all musical facets, Ari strives to dismantle traditional accessibility barriers and diversify both the stage and audience. Ari studies at the Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana with professors Jeremy Podgursky (composition) and Elzbieta Szmyt (harp). ​ His compositions and commissioned works have been recognized by such groups as Tribeca New Music and the NAMM Foundation and have been performed in places including the Peoria Civic Center, the Grant Park Music Festival’s Music in the Parks Series, and Dominican University’s Lund Auditorium. Ari was selected in 2017 as a Featured Young Composer of the American Harp Society, where he premiered his harp solo Starlight Variations. Additionally, his compositions have been recognized multiple times by the Illinois Music Education Association, including being awarded two 1st prizes in their 2018-2019 Composition Contest. Ari is also at home as a performer, being selected several times through the Greater Chicago Chapter of the American Harp Society’s Scholarship Competition to perform as a soloist at Lyon & Healy. He has performed as the principal harpist with such ensembles as the Americas Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonietta Bel Canto, and the Schaumburg Youth Symphony Orchestra. Through his synthesis of experiences and identities, Ari brings a genre-defying, multimedia approach to contemporary performance practices.