Gerard Edery -vocals, guitar, saz, composer, cantorial soloist- is recognized as a leading musical folklorist and a master singer and guitarist. He has at his command a remarkable range of ethnic folk styles and traditions from around the world, sings in fifteen languages and speaks four fluently.

Not only does Gerard regularly uncover and preserve songs from Europe, the Middle East, South America and ancient Persia, he energizes these repertoires by interpreting them for contemporary audiences and by teaming up with some of the world's most highly acclaimed virtuoso musicians. His special brand of world music fusion prizes formal authenticity and an appreciation for how disparate cultures overlap, parallel each other and often borrow from one another.

Rex Benincasa -percussion, vocals- has been a freelancing drummer and world music percussion specialist in New York City for 24 years. Along with hundreds of television/radio soundtracks and commercial recordings, he has performed with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the New Music Consort, Flamenco Latino, Carlota Santana Spanish Dance, Zorongo Flamenco Dance, Andrea DelConte Danza Espana, Pilar Rioja and the Grammy Orchestra, Amanecer Flamenco Progressivo, the Pittsburgh Ballet, the Sacramento Ballet, the Washington Ballet and the Merce Cunningham Dance Company.

Brigitte Edery -Brigitte Edery began painting at an early age. However, her natural talent for mathematics led her to the study of architecture. While at architecture school at Cornell University, Brigitte rediscovered painting and her career took shape.

Brigitte studied with Leland Bell at The New York Studio School where she was inspired by the rhythm of color. She later received her Master's in Fine Arts from Parsons.

Brigitte now lives in Texas with her family. She has exhibited her paintings extensively in Texas and New York. Her musical and spirited paintings grace the covers of her brother's CDs.

Ara Dinkjian -oud- was born in New Jersey in 1958. He graduated Hartt College of Music, earning this country's first and only special degree in the oud (ancient Middle Eastern fretless lute). With his group Night Ark he has recorded four CDs for RCA/BMG and PolyGram/Universal and has given concerts throughout the States, Europe, and the Middle East. His compositions have been recorded by top singers and musicians throughout the world in 13 different languages.

Maria Krupoves -vocals, guitar, folklorist- is internationally acclaimed as a singer and interpreter of the folksongs of Central and Eastern Europe, especially those of her native Vilnius. She has traveled extensively to find and then sing such songs, many of them now dying out, which are in Yiddish, Polish, Lithuanian, Belorussian, Gypsy (Roma), Karaim, Tatar, and other languages. In 2005 Maria performed in Yad Vashem (Jerusalem) and in September 2006 with Gerard Edery at the Festival of Sacred Music in Lithuania "Pax et Bonum" and the International Folk Music Festival in Warsaw.

Sean Kupisz -bass- was born in Long Beach, California and began his bass studies with his uncle at age 8. He has composed music for the PBS Documentary "International High" and toured with the flamenco group Amanacer founded by Peter Cortez and Igor el Ruso.

Bárbara Martínez -dancer, vocals, choreographer- is a longtime member of several noted flamenco dance companies, as well as The Metropolitan Opera. Born in Venezuela to a family of artists, Bárbara grew up in New York City, where she started performing in opera, off-Broadway and film at age 10. She currently sings with Pasión y Arte Flamenco Company, Arts Flamenco, Edwin Aparicio Flamenco Company, Spirit of Sepharad and dances with The Oscar Valero Company. She has also sung for Pilar Rioja at El Repertorio Español and danced as a soloist in festivals at Lincoln Center, Town Hall and Symphony Space. She has also collaborated with Gerard Edery in Flamenco Sepharad since 2000 and is a featured dancer and singer in The Spirit of Sepharad Ensemble's Caravan: a 500 Year Musical Journey. Bárbara recently had the honor of teaching master classes for The Cirque du Soleil and New England Conservatory. Bárbara received a scholarship from the famed Cristina Heeren Foundation in Seville, Spain for advanced study in flamenco singing. She has also studied jazz voice and theory with Barry Harris, acting at The New York Actor's Conservatory and early music education (Kodály) at New York University. Bárbara is an Honors graduate of Brown University. She is very excited to be taking her own flamenco fusion group to Carnegie Hall on Saturday, February 27, 2010.

Meg Okura -violin, erhu, vocals- is the foremost violinist on today's chamber jazz scene, leading her group, Pan Asian Chamber Jazz Ensemble. A soloist, composer, arranger, and vocalist, her credit has appeared on over forty albums and films. She has toured as a soloist with Cirque du Soleil and has performed with David Bowie, Lee Konitz, Diane Reeves, Kanye West and Bebel Gilberto. As a concertmaster in L.A., she has led the orchestra for Herbie Hancock, Diana Krall and others.

Vivienne Roumani-Denn – vocals, guitar -a recognized expert on Sephardic culture, Vivienne Roumani-Denn is an accomplished film and music director. She wrote, directed, and filmed the feature-length documentary "The Last Jews of Libya," which was shown at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival and other major international venues, and received its broadcast premiere on the Sundance Channel in 2008.

Most recently she has collaborated with renowned musician Gerard Edery in creating musical events that capture the unique qualities of Sephardic music and culture. Their productions of "Flamenco Sepharad" and "Caravan," performed by the Spirit of Sepharad Ensemble, celebrate the melding of cultures, traditions, and music through many countries and centuries.

Ricardo Santiago -dancer- was born and raised in the New York City. He began his training at Ballet Hispanico of New York and received scholarships to attend SUNY Purchase, Alvin Ailey American Dance Center and Dance Theater of Harlem. In addition to studying Flamenco, Ricardo has also studied Ballet, Modern Dance, Afro-Caribbean and Argentine Tango. He has performed with several companies, including Carlota Santana, Flamenco OlÉ, Andrea Del Conte, Flamenco Latino, The Metropolitan Opera and Washington Opera. Mr. Santiago is currently a member of M'ORO Flamenco and will be performing in Franco Zefferelli's production of La Traviata, this year, at the Metropolitan Opera in New York.

Peninnah Schram -storyteller,teacher, narrator- is Professor of Speech and Drama at Stern College of Yeshiva University. She has appeared as a featured storyteller across the globe. Peninnah is the author of ten books of Jewish folktales, and has recorded a CD “The Minstrel and the Storyteller” with singer/guitarist Gerard Edery. She is a recipient of the prestigious Covenant Award by The Covenant Foundation, and the 2003 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Storytelling Network.

Nell Snaidas -vocals- is hailed as a "first class actress" and "impressive young singer" (Opera Monthly and Theater Week) who stirs audiences with her "extremely moving singing" (Frankfurt Zeitung). Ms. Snaidas has been featured in leading roles with New York City's renowned zarzuela company, The Repertorio Español. She also starred in the Thalia Spanish Theater's winning production, "Las Leandras," at the Internacional Festival de la Zarzuela at the Chamizal in Mexico. She is highly sought after as an interpreter of Early Music and has been heard as soprano soloist with ARTEK, Bachworks, Hesperus and EX UMBRIS (with whom she has toured Italy extensively). Ms. Snaidas has been featured at various music festivals including Regensburg Tage/Alter, Feldkirchen Alte Musik the Boston Early Music Festival and the Fete d'Excellence in Geneva. She has been a featured performer with Gerard Edery since 1998.

Amir Vahab -vocals, saz, percussion- is one of New York's most celebrated and distinguished composer / vocalists of Persian sacred and folk music. He sings in the traditional Persian style, which embodies millennia of the theoretical and mystical traditions of the ancient land of Iran. In addition, he has composed eclectic music for theatre and film. Today, Amir has six albums to his credit, as composer, singer and player.

Glen Velez- percussion- a four-time Grammy Award-winning drummer, is an internationally acclaimed soloist and seminal figure in the history of the frame drum. Twentieth century composer, John Cage acknowledged Velez'es mastery when he wrote a piece especially for him in 1989. After 15 years performing and recording with the Steve Reich ensemble and the Paul Winter Consort, Velez works as a soloist, recording 15 CDs under his name, while continuing to collaborate with prominent artists in many styles, including Pat Metheny, Richard Stoltzman, Zakir Hussain and Sonny Fortune among others.

Danny Zanker –bass- spent his youth in England, Israel and Texas. This cultural confusion, coupled with a formal education in jazz, laid the foundation for his musicianship. Moving to New York in May of '95 helped consolidate all his influences into an unorthodox and highly personalized style. His playing has been praised for its profound sense of melody, its deep rhythm and its restless, searching quality. Danny's compositions draw from his Middle Eastern, blues and jazz roots, and they reflect his love of dance, lyricism and musical mood painting. Performance Highlights include
The East-West Encounter Festival in Bangalore, India and the Khala Goda Festival in Mumbai, India, What is Jazz Festival at the Knitting Factory and The Williamsburg Jazz Festival.

Francois Houle-clarinet-an alumnus of McGill University and Yale University, François has been an artist-in-residence at the Banff Centre for the Arts and the Civitella Ranieri Foundation in Umbria, Italy. Now based in Vancouver, François is a leader in the city’s music community and is considered by many to be Canada’s leading exponent of the clarinet. A West Coast Music Awards and Juno Awards nominee, François’ CD “Dice Thrown” with French pianist Benoüt Delbecq was awarded “Best Jazz Album of 2002” by France’s Jazzman magazine, and Downbeat magazine has listed François as a “Talent Deserving Wider Recognition.” François tours extensively, appearing in major jazz, improv, and classical festivals across Canada, the United States and Europe. He has performed as soloist with the CBC Radio Orchestra and the Turning Point Ensemble. A new CD of Concerti, including his own concerto, will be released this season on ATMA Classical Records.