Heni Savitri began to
study sindhènan (Javanese singing with
gamelan) in 2002. In 2003 she won the competition for best singer
in her native district of Wonogiri, Central Java. She entered the
Performing Arts Conservatory in Surakarta in 2004 and began
representing the institution in competitions the following year,
as well as performing in shadow plays.
Luis “Tito” Talamantes holds a bachelor of professional
studies in interdisciplinary music studies from Berklee College
of Music and has been a Mariachi educator for Stockton Unified
School District for over six years. His ensembles have been
invited to the White House (2016), performed at the Kennedy
Center for the Performing Arts (2018), and have placed in many
national competitions.
Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, University of Michigan
Percussionist Christopher Froh specializes in
promoting and influencing the creation of new music through
critically acclaimed performances and dynamic lectures. To date,
he has premiered over 150 chamber and solo works by composers
from 17 countries. His collaborations include some of the most
significant composers of the twentieth and
twenty-first centuries, including Chaya Czernowin, David
Lang, Steve Mackey, John Adams, George Crumb, Liza Lim, Matthias
Pintcher, and Keiko Abe.
D.M.A. Jazz Studies, University of Colorado-Boulder 2017M.A. Instrumental Music Performance, California State University, Fresno 2012B.A. Instrumental Jazz Performance, California State University, Fresno 2010
California native Otto Lee is a
saxophonist, educator, and composer. After completing a bachelor
of arts degree in instrumental jazz performance (2010) and a
master’s degree in music performance (2012) at California State
University Fresno, he began his teaching career at CSU
Fresno as well as Fresno Pacific University where he was in
charge of the big band applied lessons. After spending a brief
stint as the director of jazz studies at CSU Fresno, he decided
to pursue a DMA in Jazz Studies from University of Colorado,
Boulder (2017).
Brian Rice is a highly acclaimed performer, educator, and
recording artist and one of the most versatile percussionists in
the Bay Area. Though best known as a specialist in Brazilian and
Cuban music, he can be heard playing a multitude of styles,
and his percussion playing graces over sixty recordings.
After coming to the United States over two decades ago, Rita
Sahai continued her extensive music studies under the world
famous sarod maestro Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, who passed away in
2009. Impressed by her talent and passion toward music,
“Khansahib,” as she affectionately called her guru, gave her the
title Gayan Alankar (Jewel of Music).
Sahai, an acclaimed composer, performer, and teacher, tours
throughout the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and India. She is also in
demand at recording studios at home and abroad, where she
graciously lends her voice to many diverse musical projects,
including contributing vocal tracks for Grammy Award-winning
artist Béla Fleck and performing on Alonzo King’s Sacred
Texts, a CD of international music that won the Isadora
Duncan Award for music excellence. She has also collaborated on
several live musical productions with Jennifer Berezan’s “Edge of
Wonder” project.
