Composer and woodwind multi-instrumentalist Sheldon Brown has been a fixture on the Bay Area creative music scene for over twenty years. In addition to leading his own ensemble, Sheldon Brown Group (which features his original jazz compositions), Brown has toured internationally with Cuban pianist Omar Sosa and collaborates with many Bay Area creative musicians such as Paul McCandless (Oregon), Ben Goldberg, and Beth Custer. He is currently performing with Mitch Marcus Quintet + 13, Realistic Orchestra (led by Adam Theis), Hemispheres (Paul McCandless, Ian Dogle and Bill Douglass), Graham Connah and Oakland Opera Theatre. His compositions and playing have been featured in Clubfoot Orchestra's scores to numerous silent films and the cartoon series "The Twisted Tales of Felix the Cat", which aired on CBS in 1995.

Randy Keith is Principal Bassist of the Santa Rosa Symphony, Assistant Principal Bass with the Modesto and Fresno Orchestras, and Section Bass with the Oakland Symphony. He has performed with the San Francisco Ballet, Chanticleer Men’s Choir, Marin, San Jose and California Symphonies. Randy is also the leader of the Santa Rosa Symphony String Quintet, which performs in schools throughout the entire bay area. He has been involved with the production of many recordings, most recently with his jazz group, The Dmitry Greenberg Trio. Randy has participated in the Mendocino Music Festival, the National Orchestral Institute, the Midsummer Mozart Festival, and the Carmel Bach, Coos Bay, and Redwood Music Festivals. He earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and has studied with S. Charles Siani, Steve Tramontozzi and most recently, Joe Lescher (Principal Bass of the S.F. Opera).

Allen Biggs is Principal Percussionist with the Santa Rosa Symphony. He also performs with other Bay Area groups, such as San Francisco Opera, and the California and Marin symphonies. The list of touring Broadway productions he has worked with includes: Caroline or Change, Evita, Fosse, Hairspray, Les Miserables, Little Shop of Horrors, and Mamma Mia. He has done several National tours with Western Opera Theater, and two European tours with Phantom of the Opera. A recording he made with the group Chanticleer won two Grammy awards in 2002. Allen is an active educator, leading the popular Bucket-Brigade drumming program in Marin county (please visit us at www.bucket-brigade.org) and two steel pan programs.

Originally from the Midwest, Doug Morton began playing trumpet at the age of 7. In his teens he attended the Interlochen Arts Academy, played with the World Youth Symphony, Michigan Youth Orchestra and was soloist with the Dun Scotus Bach Festivals. He received his bachelor's degree in trumpet (Phi Beta Kappa honorary) from the New England Conservatory, studying with Armando Ghitala, Gunther Schuller, and Daniel Pinkham. He founded and directed the Scholarship Brass Quintet, and was principal in many of Schuller's ensembles and Boston area groups. Since moving to the Bay Area, Morton has performed with the Sacramento, Berkeley, Monterey, and California symphonies, among others, including being featured with the Santa Rosa, Monterey, Bay Area Concerto and Concord Pavilion orchestras as soloist, and has been invited to perform at many summer music festivals. He has been principal trumpet in Santa Rosa Symphony since 1992. Morton continues to pursue his interests in music of all kinds, performing with such diverse groups as the Jazz Composer's Orchestra, CARMA, Mental Floss, The Grateful Dudes, the Clubfoot Orchestra, SF Mime Troupe, Beach Blanket Babylon, and the Bohemian Club Jinks Band. Morton also composes and arranges. His works have been commissioned and performed by the California Shakespeare Festival, ACT, SF Chamber Singers, Napa Valley Chorale, Santa Rosa Chamber Players and KQED. He currently performs with Orient Express, a world-music group, CJQ, a cross-over jazz combo and the Epiphoné Brass ensemble.

Scott Thompson, bass has been playing music professionally since age 14. He has performed with many world-class musicians in his relatively short career including: John Mayer, Omar Soza, Dori Caymmi, Flora Purim and Airto, Marcos Silva, Jesus Diaz, Josh Jones and the SFJAZZ All-Star Ensemble.

Brian Rice is a freelance percussionist with a B.M. in Percussion Performance and Ethnomusicology from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. A well-rounded musician, Brian is a highly acclaimed performer, educator and recording artist adept at numerous musical styles ranging from classical and jazz, to Latin and Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, to contemporary and experimental music. Brian's style range goes from jazz, to Afro-Cuban, Brazilian and North Indian, to contemporary classical and experimental music. Some of the artists that he has performed with are The Paul Winter Consort, Donald Byrd, Sonando, Balafon Marimba Ensemble, and Wake The Dead, while his recording credits include Steve Gadd, Tony Levin, Mike Marshall, and Jay Thomas. Brian has taught workshops throughout the country at Queens College, Oberlin College, Lewis and Clark College, Portland State University, and continues to coach privately in the East Bay.

Born in Los Angeles, Bryan Bowman, percussion, was surrounded by music from an early age. His Father Robert is a classical pianist and music professor at Chico State University and his mother plays the cello and is an international folk dancer. These influences guided his musical journey toward the study of classical, jazz, rock, Balkan and North Indian classical music. He resides in Berkeley and where he performs as a free lance musician and composer. He has performed, recorded and toured with numerous international jazz and rock artists.

Bill Lanphier, bass, has had a wide-ranging career, playing and recording with Madonna, Linda Ronstadt, Rickie Lee Jones, Harry Chapin AND the Chicago Symphony, among others. He has also written for Bass Player Magazine and taught at the Los Angeles Music Academy. He has recently returned from a tour of Eastern Europe where he was steeped in odd-meter music.

Richard Saunders, bass, has been performing professionally for over 40 years. He has recorded with Country Joe and the Fish, Jessica Williams, Grupo Raiz, Fred Raulston, Dave Slusser various TV shows, ads and movie scores. He is on the faculty of the Community Music Center in San Francisco.

Miriam Peretz is an internationally acclaimed performing artist and dance instructor. She was a principle dancer with Inbal Ethnic Dance Theater in Tel Aviv, Israel, and is now assistant artistic director and principle dancer for Ballet Afsaneh with whom she has been a member since 1998. Miriam's love of dance has led her on an extraordinary life long journey that has taken her throughout the Middle East and to her original birthplace, Israel. These cultural exchanges have inspired her to use the arts as a bridge to create respect, love and unity among people of different backgrounds and spiritual traditions.