This year saw the founding of East Zodiac and the creation of our social media pages. We held multiple rounds of fundraising and successfully raised the money needed to commission Christopher's new work for Eb clarinet and piano. Following the creation of the piece, it was performed twice, once at KSU and then again at St. Alban Church in Baton Rouge Louisiana. It is now available for purchase and download here.

East Zodiac had a successful second year in 2024, the Year of the Dragon, featuring several highlights! Daixuan Ai, a DMA composition student at Indiana University, was chosen as our second commissioned composer and created a duet for Bb Clarinet and Alto Saxophone, which premiered in April at the University of Michigan. We were also honored to be selected by the University of Michigan EXCELerator program, one of the few student projects to participate in this entrepreneurial fellowship. This opportunity provided our team with invaluable guidance, advice, and tangible financial and promotional support, including up to $1,000 in seed money and an additional $4,000 in funding. Through this program, our team was able to attend the Yale 2024 Innovation Summit, where we were able to connect with many inspiring individuals.

East Zodiac was also represented at three Asian events across Michigan, and our premiere piece received additional support from a new consortium project that raised over $200. This consortium allowed artists and musicians to directly support East Zodiac and gain exclusive benefits, rights, and recognition, contributing to our successful fundraising efforts. We are incredibly grateful for everyone who supported us this year and we look forward to Year of the Snake 2025!