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Chris Armstrong has been a drummer/percussionist for over 38 years and owes his success to his incredible teachers. He has a BFA and MFA in World Music from CalArts where he studied music from India, Africa and Indonesia. He studied Ethnomusicology and Systematic Musicology at UCLA and took classes and private lessons in Afro-Latin music at Cal State L.A. He has performed with several African drumming and dance companies and recorded African drumming for Survivor: Africa, a CBS Steven King production, Ghanaian Master Drummer Alfred Ladzekpo's CD "Hosu - Horsu," and Disney Studios. He has studied extensively with African master drummers from Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, and Ivory Coast in the US as well as in Ivory Coast, West Africa, and is currently working on arrangements for a recording of his djembe drumming group, Djembe Nova. Chris has performed and recorded percussion and drum-set with numerous pop, jazz and world music groups in Phoenix, Nashville and Los Angeles. He has also been playing percussion from North and South India since 1979, which will be featured on an upcoming recording of his world-percussion music called Indica Plexus. With 30 years teaching experience, Chris continues to teach and perform for the CalArts Community Arts Partnership and ArtsCOOL programs, has many private students and has given many African and Indian drumming workshops in high schools and colleges. He is currently composing music for future recordings and records percussion and creates atmospheric sound designs for TV and indie film soundtracks. Chris is also designing a new kind of hand-drum and drumming method that combines concepts and techniques from many different cultures into a new eclectic hand-drumming style. Chris also has been a computer programmer, studied artificial intelligence (particularly neural modeling) at ASU and has dabbled in several different martial arts for over 35 years.

Kate Conklin is a classically trained soprano, and a leading interpreter of the highly demanding vocal music of Bulgaria. She works extensively in film and new works as a vocalist and collaborator with composers and choreographers. She was awarded The Fulbright Scholarship to Bulgaria, and the LifeWorks Foundation Research Grant for Early American Folk Music in Nashville. In Bulgaria Kate rehearsed and performed as a member of the Ivan Spassov Bulgarian Women's Choir, and developed her work in regional solo repertoire, choral literature, conducting and pedagogy. She has founded and directed Bulgarian Vocal Ensembles for California Institute of the Arts, Community Arts Partnership, California State Summer School for the Arts, and The Oakwood School. Also known for her work in new music, Kate has premiered pieces by Mark Trayle, Marc Lowenstein and Jeremy Zuckerman. She frequently collaborates in performance with Miroslav Tadic«, Jim Sullivan, TJ Troy, Brad Dutz and Bryan Landers. In 2006 Kate returned to LA after a two-year tenure with Cirque du Soleil as a vocalist in "O". She currently resides in Los Angeles CA, where she teaches voice and is training to become a teacher of The Alexander Technique.

If you've watched television in the past 5 years, you've probably heard music written by composer and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Miller. He has composed over 700 pieces for television shows like "Flip That House" on TLC, "Big" and "Lobstermen" on the Discovery Channel and many others. You can hear his music on "Greenovate" on Discovery Home, "Flip That House" season 4, and "The Xterminators" on the Discovery Channel starting in March 2008. His compositions for string quartets and chamber ensembles have been performed in New York and LA. He has taught composition at Pomona College and The Walden School. Jonathan received his MFA in music composition from CalArts in 2002. His musical passions are percussion music, alternate tuning systems and trippy pop music.

David Philipson began studying north Indian classical music and bansuri [the north Indian bamboo flute] in 1978 with the late Professor Amiya Dasgupta, tabla and rhythmic concepts with the late Pandit Taranath Rao and South Indian music, Balinese and Javanese music and Ghanaian (Ewe) music and dance with the distinguished World Music faculty at California Institute of the Arts, where he received his BFA and MFA in World Music. In 1984 he was awarded a Fulbright grant to study in India with the leading exponents of the late Pandit Pannalal Ghosh lineage of bansuri performance; Pandit V.G. Karnad, Pandit Devendra Murdeshwar and Pandit Nityanand Haldipur. He has also received guidance from Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Pandit Ravi Bellare and Pandit Rajeev Taranath.

Lisa Popeil is one of America's foremost singing experts and has an international reputation as an innovator in the technique and pedagogy of vocal styles. She holds a Master's Degree in Voice from California Institute of the Arts and has taught professionally for over 30 years. Creator of the Voiceworks¨ Method and "The Total Singer" instructional video, Lisa brings her enthusiasm and long experience to the training of singers around the world. Her Voiceworks Studio is located in Sherman Oaks, (Los Angeles) California. Beginning with piano lessons at age 4 and voice training at 6, Lisa has sung in every style including: opera, musical theater, jazz, pop, rock, R&B, and country and her voice has been featured on commercials, television and film. In the 1980's, her self-titled album "Lisa Popeil" was a Billboard Top Album Pick. Lisa has sung on several Top 10 albums. In 2006, she received the LA Music Award for 'Career Achievement in Vocal Instruction'. For celebrity clients, her experience in instant vocal improvement, song choice, audition/performance prep and maintenance of vocal health keeps her in demand as a resource for actors, managers, directors and record producers. The Voiceworks Studio has a full digital recording studio, as well as a performance area with stage, lights, sound system and video. Her private students range in age from 5-80 and include beginners to celebrities in film, TV, musical theater, and recording worlds. High-profile clients can be assured of anonymity. Lisa is a member of NATS (National Association of Teachers of Singing), the Voice Foundation, VASTA (Voice and Speech Trainers Association), AFTRA (American Federation of TV and Radio Artists), and is a writer-publisher member of ASCAP (American Society of Composers & Publishers) and a voting member of NARAS (National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences). A contributing writer for 'Karaoke Scene' and 'Singer & Musician' magazines, Lisa has two published technical articles in the 'Journal of Singing'. She presents workshops and research papers at prestigious voice conferences around the world. Private instruction covers singing technique, performance coaching, speech work, voice-over coaching for animation voices, narration, dialects, broadcasting, voice projection, voice preservation, piano, songwriting, demo production, demo recording, charisma enhancement, anxiety reduction and off-site coaching (on-set or in-studio). As the "singing guru", Lisa is a frequent radio talk show guest. She has been featured in "Los Angeles", "Variety", "The Hollywood Reporter" magazines and has been a guest on the Lifetime Cable's "Home & Family" Show, Fox News, A&E, NBC's 'Starting Over' and 'Idol Tonight' on the TV Guide Channel. Lisa is a member of the famous Popeil family, daughter of Sam (S.J.) Popeil, creator of the Veg-O-Matic and Pocket Fisherman and sister to Ron Popeil, whose many products include the Ronco Food Dehydrator, Popeil Pasta Machine, and the Showtime Rotisserie. Lisa has turned her passion in another direction: helping people discover and develop their ability to sing.

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