Artists

Cynthia Folio (b. 1954) is a composer, music theorist, and flutist. As a young flute player and army brat, her main inspiration came from her studies at the Panama Conservatory in the1960’s; there she studied with Eduardo Charpentier (first flutist in the Panama Symphony) and had rigorous studies in solfege. She received her Ph.D. in music theory and Performers Certificate in flute from the Eastman School of Music, where she studied composition with Joseph Schwantner and flute with Bonita Boyd; Robert D. Morris advised her dissertation on the music of Schwantner. From 1980 to 1990, she taught music theory and flute at Texas Christian University and played in the Fort Worth Symphony. She now serves as Professor and Chair of Music Studies in the Boyer College at Temple University, where she was honored with the Creative Achievement Award in 2012 and the Lindback Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1994.

Hevreh is a Hebrew word meaning “Circle of Friends.” Friendship, relationship, connection— these make up the DNA of the HEVREH Ensemble. Formed and cultivated by a group of friends, both new and lifelong, HEVREH Ensemble is the best kind of chamber group— their “clean, tight, creative… aesthetic that defies description” (Audiophile Audition) makes it abundantly clear that this is a group of people who know each other well and who work intensely and closely together.

Ellasón was founded in 2012; a musical group  based on Baby Bass, vocals, chorus, guitar/voice guitar trio/chorus, congas, bongos, cowbells, two clarinets, violin, and a voice leader.

The musical execution of this very young feminine octet concentrates on finding a more contemporary aesthetic of  “La Trova” and the Latin-American and Cuban traditional music.  Following the research of the different rhythms, and inspired by the legends of “La Trova” and the traditional Cuban music, these girls have come together to revive this music using  Compay Segundo as a paradigm, and the work of Sindo Garay and Mexico: the Yucatecan Trova as a foundation. Within the music genre acquired of Ellasón, they have  the Changüí, Chachachá, Son, Bolero, Canción, etc. With a new music design, they have established standard use of the clarinets and a constant tribute to the Aragón violin. This new format stamps the results of a typical approach to the sonority created by Charanga, and recreates an atmosphere of an authentic Jazz Band, which transports us back in time to the era bloomed in which these groups where flourishing. 

Maykel Erik Elizarde Ruano was born on February 1, 1979 in Santa Clara. He was from a very humble family where his great-grandfather, Mario Ruano Vila was a great concert guitarist in the 1950's.

L Peter Deutsch is a native of Massachusetts, now living in Sonoma County CA and British Columbia, Canada. His early music education included performance and composition for voice, piano, and recorder. He received his M.A. degree in composition in 2011, studying with Frank La Rocca.

Sergio Cervetti, a Uruguayan-born American composer, came to the United States in 1962 to study composition. By 1966 he attracted international attention by winning the chamber music prize at the Caracas Venezuela Music Festival. After graduating from the Peabody Conservatory in 1967, where he studied with Ernst Krenek and Stefan Grové, he was invited by the DAAD to be a composer-in-residence in Berlin, Germany in 1969-70. From 1972-97 and 2007-08 Cervetti was Professor of Music at New York University / Tisch School of the Arts.

John A. Carollo studied piano as a child and was a member of a Catholic Church choir which sang for the congregation during weekend services. In 1986, he began composing for the piano and graduated from San Diego State University with a Masters Degree in Psychology.  After moving to Honolulu HI in 1987, he started a career as a mental health counselor and social worker with the State of Hawaii, Department of Health.  In 1997, he began private composition lessons with Dr. Robert Wehrman.

Described as “a true pioneer” (Classic FM Magazine), award-winning London-based Cuban guitarist, Ahmed Dickinson Cárdenas, is one of the finest performers of the Cuban classical guitar school.

Maltese-born flutist Fiorella Camilleri started playing the flute at age 14. Since then she has been an active chamber musician with different ensembles playing repertoire ranging from the classical to the contemporary, performing in Italy, Malta, and Japan respectively. Her latest chamber music achievement led her to Shizuoka and Tokyo, where she led a research project supported by the Malta Arts Fund. This project, which took place in 2017, involved merging Maltese and Japanese traditional music. She explores the subject of international cultural diplomacy through chamber music and research based projects.

In a career of over 45 years, composer/pianist Margaret Brandman has composed a variety of music ranging from orchestral, chamber and choral works, to instrumental solos, and works for solo voice with piano accompaniment.

Don Bowyer is Dean of the College of Fine Arts at Arkansas State University. Having previously taught at every level from kindergarten through university in the United States, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Sweden, Bowyer received his Doctor of Arts from the University of Northern Colorado, Master of Arts from California State University-Northridge, and Bachelor of Arts from West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Roger Bourland (b. Dec. 13, 1952, Evanston, Illinois) received his education from the University of Wisconsin/Madison (B.Mus),the New England Conservatory of Music (M.M.), and Harvard University (A.M., Ph.D.). His teachers have included Leon Kirchner, Gunther Schuller, Donald Martino, John Harbison, and Randall Thompson. He received the Koussevitzky Prize in Composition at Tanglewood, the John Knowles Paine Fellowship at Harvard, two ASCAP Grants to Young Composers, numerous Meet the Composers grants, and was a co-founder of the Boston-based consortium “Composers in Red Sneakers.” Bourland has composed over one hundred works for all media: solo, instrumental, chamber, vocal and choral music, electro-acoustic music, and music for orchestra, wind ensemble, and other large ensembles, which are published by Yelton Rhodes Music, ECS Publishing, Dorn Publications, Inc. and Associated Music Publishers, Inc. His works have been recorded on Northeastern Records, 1750 Arch, Open Loop, Cambria, and GM Recordings.

Steven D. Block was born in New York City on November 5, 1952. He is currently Dean of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley after having served as Chair of the Department of Music at the University of New Mexico for 17 years. As Dean, he is building new Arts programs, including that of the School of Music, from two separate legacy campuses. Block has appeared in the various personae of composer, music theorist, music critic, pianist, and both classical radio and disco d.j., among others. His compositions have been performed worldwide including performances in Australia, Paris, and Poland. His articles as a music theorist and music critic have appeared in such journals and magazines as Perspectives of New Music, Integrales, Music Theory Spectrum, the Journal of Music Theory, the Annual Review of Jazz Studies, Music Library Notes, and High Fidelity.

As a composer, Bunny composes contemporary classical music as well as jazz and ballads. Her most recent works include “Breathe” for jazz ensemble, “Suite for Sarro” for string trio, “Fantasy for Saxophones”, (quartet) “Fantasy for Brass” (quintet) and the suite “Two Rivers and An Ocean” for mixed percussion ensemble. Her client commissions include arrangements. Bunny holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Music Composition from the Vermont College of Fine Arts.

Lucian Kano Balmer is a Bay Area violinist, vocalist, and composer who performs original compositions often described as "raga-infused." He’s performed extensively in the United States and Europe as a solo act as well as with large ensembles. He has studied with renowned North Indian Classical vocalist Shweta Jhaveri, and continues to study vocals and instrumental with Bruce Hamm, a senior disciple of Ustad Ali Akbar Khan. He combines his Western Classical upbringing (under local violinist Ben Spilman) and love of chamber music along with the melodic and rhythmic ideas from North Indian Classical music to create new ideas using ancient musical languages.