Artists

The Daydream is a music group for kids consisting of Scott and Cathy Liebenow and their children, McKenna, Mark, and Mia. Over the years Scott and Cathy have written over 100 kids songs for various publications and recordings.

For the young Jimmy Crew, trips to the maternal grandparents' home meant hours of exploring a vintage player piano. The numerous piano rolls featuring the music of Sousa, Foster, and others were enough to keep anyone interested, but removing the various panels, exposing the insides of the beast, was equally enthralling. An older cousin could sight read from the hymnal. She taught him "Heart and Soul" but made him promise not to play it.

Tony R. Clef was born in Bellows Falls VT and grew up in nearby Springfield, VT. He has spent most of his adult life in the Boston, MA area. He studied classical guitar primarily with Richard Layman in Brookline, MA and also for a time with Adam Holzman in Austin, TX.

Shinjoo Cho studied piano performance and pedagogy at the Westminster Choir College in Princeton NJ, where she cultivated her role as a solo and chamber musician, as well as an educator in choir, theater, and classroom settings. Intrigued by the music outside her discipline, she returned to her place of birth, Korea, to study Korean traditional music theory and history in 2001.

Hailing from Joliet IL, Matthew Busse's musical journey began early in life. Initially exploring the piano without formal guidance, he delved into formal lessons at the age of six. Over the years, a passion for composition blossomed, leading him to study the works of classical masters. His academic pursuits in composition, conducting, and piano performance at Sam Houston State University further fueled his love for creating music that melds classical and contemporary influences. 

Svjetlana Bukvich first came to the attention of the European music world following her appearances as featured soloist with the Sarajevo Philharmonic Orchestra, performing Beethoven’s 1st Piano Concerto at the age of 16, and the following year with Edinburgh George Heriot’s Symphony Orchestra with the 2nd Concerto. Driven by a need to express beyond interpretation, Bukvich studied at the Music Academy – University of Sarajevo, where she earned degrees in Composition and Musicology. During this period she was invited to participate in the Intensive Composition Workshop in Groznjan, Istria, where she worked with some of the leading lights in European contemporary music.

Gerry Bryant has been described by many as a renaissance man. Multi-talented Bryant graduated cum laude from both Phillips Andover Academy and Harvard, and received two graduate degrees (J.D. & M.B.A.) from UCLA. His musical influences range from masters of the Romantic Period in classical music (in particular Chopin, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff), to jazz legends Nat King Cole and Duke Ellington, to contemporary pianists Keith Jarrett and Ramsey Lewis. He describes his original music as “Third Stream,” a term coined in 1957 by composer Gunther Schuller to describe a musical genre that is a synthesis of classical music and jazz.

Baritone Mel Braun is a long-time colleague and collaborator at the University of Manitoba's Desautels Faculty of Music in Winnipeg. Braun is well known for his Bach singing, with performances and broadcasts that have taken him all across Canada.

Described as “the only name for music innovation” by Martin Hackleman, formerly of the Empire and Canadian Brass, the Alias Brass, founded in 2013, is a collaboration of five uniquely talented artists and educators from across the nation. Alias Brass’ performances are comprised of standards and original compositions, along with concepts that blend virtuosic musicianship with a high level of entertainment. From Baroque and Classical, to Jazz and Pop, Alias Brass’ shows are “a sure-fire hit; chamber music of the future with something for everyone!”

Benjamin Blazer, a native of Lancaster PA, joined the Oscuro Quintet in the summer of 2007. Blazer attended Temple University, where he attained a B.M. in music theory and double bass performance, as well as an M.M. in music composition.

Bradford Blackburn (b. 1974) is a composer, music technologist, and music theorist whose work explores electroacoustic and interactive music, new musical interfaces, extended just intonation, immersive audio, environmental sound, live video processing, sonification of movement and gesture, contemporary music performance, improvisation, and the construction of experimental musical instruments.

It all began 25 years ago when he heard his uncle play bass in his bluegrass band. He freaked out and picked up his dad's classical acoustic guitar. That's all he had access to at that point. His parents wouldn't buy a bass guitar for him. So he had to earn it. So much for cliche that "only children are spoiled." Not so in that household. He began performing a few years later; both in church playing gospel tunes on guitar, in theatres playing in various pit orchestras and rock bands as a bassist.

With their unique brand of ethno-classical music, Duo Beija-Flor presents a varied repertoire of works inspired by traditional and folkloric music from around the world. Guitarist Charles Hobson and flutist Marie-Noëlle Choquette began to perform together while in the midst of their graduate studies at Concordia University in Montreal. In 2010 they officially formed the Duo Beija-Flor. Since then they have performed concerts throughout Canada, the United States and Argentina.

Jazz pianist and composer Bunny Beck comes from a long line of musicians. Her dad, Larry Sideman had a band that played hotels, her aunt was a vaudeville violinist, and her grandmother sang opera.

The beginnings of the B-Side Band, a professional Brno big band led by the bandleader Josef Buchta, date back to 2006. Since its inception, the band has performed at prestigious social events, large festival stages (such as Smetana's Litomyšl, Český Krumlov, Colors of Ostrava, Karlovy Vary), and in European musical centers (Vienna, Leipzig, Prague, Bratislava). It is a residential ensemble of the Groove Brno International Music Festival.

Alban Bailly is a multifaceted instrumentalist who studied composition, jazz, and improvisation in France. After spending his youth playing mainly rock music, Alban moved onto studying jazz, which opened him to free improvisation, and in 2001 he studied Arabic music and oud in Marrakesh, Morocco.

Michael Arnowitt is one of the most creative and imaginative musicians of today. He is best known for his beautiful and sensitive touch at the keyboard, for the clarity and elegance of his musical ideas, for his abilities to find new articulations and colors from the piano, for his innovative and thought-provoking concert programs, and for his natural and warm on-stage manner with audiences of all ages.

Dr. Juan Álamo is an internationally known performer, composer, and educator. Originally from Cidra, Puerto Rico, Álamo has presented solo recitals at universities and percussion and jazz festivals throughout the United States, Central and South America, Europe and the Caribbean. He has been featured as a soloist and with jazz ensembles in television and radio shows in Puerto Rico, Mexico, Venezuela and the United States.