Meet The Musicians
Harp
Alison Bjorkedal
Hailed by the LA Times as "a force field unto her own, yet joined in something bigger," Alison Bjorkedal is a passionate ambassador for the harp and a Grammy Award-winning specialist in performing the music of Harry Partch.
Ensemble and chamber performances include The Industry, San Diego Symphony, Pasadena Symphony/Pops Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, American Contemporary Ballet, wildUP, Jacaranda Chamber Music, Salastina Music Society, Microfest, and Southwest Chamber Music. She is principal harpist of the Bakersfield Symphony and was featured as soloist with Pasadena Symphony, Downey Symphony, California Chamber Orchestra, and Palimpsest at UC San Diego.
Alison has recorded for Sia, Madonna, and Kid Cudi, and live performances with Il Volo and Idina Menzel. Select soundtracks include Finding Dory, Independence Day: Resurgence, IT 2, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Picard, The Adam Project, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Mandalorian. On-screen appearances include Dancing with the Stars, two PBS specials with Andrea Bocelli, Genshin Impact Anniversary Concert, and the Pentatonix's "A Very Pentatonix Christmas".
Alison received harp performance degrees from University of Oregon (BM) and USC Thornton School of Music (MM, DMA). She is harp faculty at California Institute of the Arts, Occidental College, and Pomona College.
Music Director / Percussion
Jarryd Elias
Jarryd Elias is a Los Angeles-based composer, orchestrator, conductor, and percussionist. Being versatile in a plethora of musical styles, from modern to classical to everything in-between, allows him to collaborate and create music that heightens the experience for anyone watching and listening.
Originally from Detroit, Michigan, Jarryd began his musical journey as a percussionist playing in a multitude of settings, ranging from classical symphonic to rock and jazz bands. He continued with his percussion education at the Eastman School of Music (2015), earning a Bachelors in Percussion Performance under world-renown percussionist and composer Michael Burritt. Soon after, Jarryd's interests were drawn towards composition, traveling to Seattle to earn his Masters in Film Scoring at the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring Program (2017), studying under the composer of this very show - two-time Emmy winner Dr. Hummie Mann.
Keyboard
Dylan Price
Dylan Price is a composer and pianist from Syracuse, NY. He is currently based in Los Angeles where he works as a freelance composer for Hans Zimmer’s Bleeding Fingers Music. His latest work with them has been writing for the shows Master Chef on Fox, Foodtastic on Disney+, and Cities of the Underworld on History, for which he wrote the main theme. In addition, he regularly contributes music to Sony Music Publishing’s Extreme Music library from which his tracks have been licensed for over 800 television shows worldwide. Further samples of his work can be found at extrememusic.com. Additionally, he serves as Piano Accompanist and Vocal Coach at the performing arts college AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy). He graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a BM in Music Theory.
Violin
Chihsuan Yang
Chihsuan [chee-shwen] is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist who specializes in violin, piano and erhu. Chihsuan is also a composer. Her body of work spans genres and reaches beyond borders. From playing with Yo-Yo Ma and Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, to performing for His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She has toured the world and participated in highly-acclaimed productions and festivals while being featured in countless recordings and performances. Her composition works have been featured in films, theater/dance productions, radio, commercial, audiobook, and movie trailer.
Chihsuan believes that the very essence of being an artist is to act as a bridge between cultural diversities. Aside from being classically trained, she prides herself on being an artist fluent in a multitude of styles, crossover multidisciplinary and being eclectic in musical passions and personal interests.
The winner of the 3Arts award and a fellow at Camargo Foundation in France and Hawaii’s Volcanoes National Park. In 2014, she released debut solo album “Ways to Say Hello”, a mix of original worldly compositions. In 2021, she received a Grammy Awards nomination for the collaboration with The String Theory of Germany. Most recently, Chihsuan composed and produced the music for an international GAP commercial debuting during the 2021 Emmys, as well as composed music for American Player’s Theatre’s production of “Sense and Sensibility”. In 2023, she released a debut album “Pearls” with her duo ESCP.
Apply Today
Madmann's Playground is always looking for new performers to join our roster. Reach out today with your resume, reel, and photos.