Beth Schneider - singer and dancer

Singer, songwriter, filmmaker, and dancer/choreographer, Beth has performed in and choreographed over thirty productions , including such shows as Evita, West Side Story, Fiddler on The Roof and The Robber Bridegroom. New Years 2000 marked the premiere performance of Beth as soloist with The Kama Ensemble, which subsequently changed its name to Beth the Sybil. for the release of their debut CD, My King Nimrod. Beth has performed as vocal/dance guest artist with Aeolian Ballet Theatre in a choreographed presentation of Olivier Messiaen’s Poems Pour Mi. In addition she performed six seasons with the ballet company Dance Alive!, the designated state touring company of Florida. Beth has earned 11 international awards including three first places for her celebrated children’s film, “The Magic Within.” Her children’s video, “Dance With Us,” is used in schools throughout the United States. Beth studied acting at the famed Neighborhood Playhouse in N.Y.C., ballet with Christine Nubert, Kira Guzakova, Kim Tuttle, Stephan Wenta and Jonette Swider, and voice with Irma Neverow, Mike Goodrich and Stephanie Vlahos.

Greg Harris - Composer / Keyboards

By age 8 Greg was regularly performing a repertoire that included Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Mozart. By 15 he shifted his focus to studies in 20th century composition, orchestral arrangements as well as piano performance. At 19 he wrote several string quartets for the Oxford Contemporary Music Festival before expanding into the rock arena. His first recorded compositions were with the group "Systems of Romance" on their CD "Dare To Dance". Greg played and composed several seasons with COMA, (California Outside Music Association,) as well as premiering "Skipping The Philosopher's Stone," a concerto for rag piano, found objects and elfin choir. Greg has two CD's in release with his psychedelic rock quintet, "Quercus," "Ode to Earthly Delights," and "Boondoggle." A backdrop to his lifelong musical endeavors has been his specialized focus on Bach's fugues which he will be recording in their entirety. His teachers have included his grandfather, Dr. Harvey Harris, Wayne Behlendorf, Esther Lee Kaplan, Dr. Robert Turner, Cesare Pascarella and Don Neligan. Greg lives with his wife Molly and four year old son Jasper.

Orest Balaban - Bass

Orest Balaban hails from the undiscovered Ventura Ca. music scene. Having studied with a variety of working musicians from Askold Buk to Ken Filiano, Orest has played across the spectrum of musical genres. Known by some as one of Ventura County's most solid bass players, Orest began with electric bass, playing in Ukrainian wedding bands, garage bands, progressive rock in the 80's and Big Band Jazz in the early 90's. After joining a bluegrass project, upright bass became his focus. He currently performs with Quercus (20th century psychelassical jam), Bluer Pastures (bluegrass), The Jonathan Raffetto Band, delta bluesman Bob Jones, as well as Hippie Mark and Those Total Strangers, the Tatters (Americana) , and Jonathan McEuen. Orest has shared the stage with the likes of John McEuen (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band), Jackie Lomax, and Albert Lee. At present, Orest is fresh from a European tour with alt/pop band the Eels, whose new, criticaly acclaimed record "Daisies of the Galaxy" is available in stores. Orest enjoys recording in his own Table Top Recording studio, writing, singing, adogmatic religions, and soldering all night.

was born in Montenegro, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Throughout his teens and early twenties Angelo played in many different groups that ranged from the hard rocking "Coisa Rock" to classical ensembles. In 1984 Angelo formed Banda Verde, a band that evolved from hard rock through Brazilian Jazz to a jazz mixed fusion. In 1988 Angelo was accepted into the UFRGS (Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul), where he earned a Bachelor's degree in classical guitar while at the same time touring throughout South America and the U.S. In 1997 Angelo received a scholarship from the Brazilian Government to pursue a Masters degree in the Studio/Jazz guitar program at USC. After completion, Angelo received an invitation and scholarship for their Doctoral program in Musical Arts and teaching in the Jazz Studies and Studio Jazz Guitar Departments. Angelo has two solo CD's in release; the first entitled "Coming" and the latest is "Live at USC". "Coming" focuses on Angelo's writing prowess while "Live at USC" showcases his virtuosity and homage to American masters like Coltrane and Parker mixed with the Brazilian influences of Hermeto Pascoal. Both are available at his website http://www.angelometz.com

Elleni Maureas - Flute

Elleni Maureas graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles with a Bachelor’s Degree in Ethnomusicology, June 1999. In addition, to an extensive background in classical music, Ms. Maureas has studied and played music from the Near East to the Balkans as well as jazz. Ms. Maureas has guest conducted and soloed with the St. George Chamber Orchestra and has been the principal section lead in several community ensembles. In her last year at UCLA, as member of the World Jazz Ensemble, Elleni performed in a concert that featured distinguished guest, Tito Puente along with Kenny Burrell and Francisco Aguelbella in UCLA’s Schoenburg Hall. Elleni continues to pursue her education in music by studying with renowned jazz flutist, James Newton.

Austin Wrinkle - drums / percussion

Holds both master's degree and a bachelor's degree from California Institute of the Arts in percussion and North Indian music respectively. In addition to studying hand drumming with John Bergamo since 1992, Austin has also studied under tabla maestro Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri since 1992. In 1996 Austin attended the Ali Akbar College of Music, and in 1997 traveled throughout India, expanding his understanding of Indian music and culture. Furthermore, he has studied South Indian music with South Indian master drummer, Poovalur Srinivasan. He has also studied percussion and mallets with David Johnson, and African drumming with Alfred Ladzekpo. In addition to performing with the Hands On'Semble, Austin also performs with the eclectic contemporary music ensemble, Quercus, as well as the Indian / Bluegrass fusion group, Hindugrass, and the East Indian / Native American fusion group, Wovoka. Austin teaches and performs regularly around Los Angeles and Ventura County. He has performed at venues such as the Seattle Rhythm Festival, the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC), the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) Sunday Afternoon Concert Series, the Watts Towers Day of the Drum Festival, Ritmos da Terra International Percussion Festival in Campinas, Brazil, and most recently, the World Drum Festival in Hamburg, Germany. He has performed with with master drummers; John Bergamo, Swapan Chaudhuri, Trichy Shankaran, Glen Velez, and Poovalur Srinivasan. http://www.hindugrass.com/austin

Aaron began his violin studies at seven years of age with blue grass, but by ten he had immersed himself in the study of classical music. At twelve Aaron added the viola to his studies as well as composition and by fifteen composing had become his central passion. He began playing and performing a variety of styles including jazz, rock, rap and once again bluegrass as well as a classical repertoire with orchestra. Aaron has studied with many great artists including Billy Childs, Richard Danielpour, Frank Proto and Evan Wilson. Aaron is a free-lance musician and composer for his company Vast Difference. He currently plays in a N.Y. based string quartet.

Patrick Byrne - bouzouki

Patrick started playing guitar in his early teens, exploring interests in many diverse musical styles including classical, rock, jazz, , bluegrass and various world music traditions. He studied classical guitar with John Schneider and Ron Purcell. An obsession with the music of eastern Europe led him to study guitar and music theory with Miroslav Tadic at California Institute of the Arts. Patrick plays guitar, mandolin, bouzouki, tambura, and banjo with various music projects. He has recorded with the L.A. blues band, Backward Shuffle(1993), the atonal punk/funk/jazz trio Spiritual Bugger(1997), the psychedelic rock quintet, Quercus(1998), and with percussionist/composer Dan Morris(1999).