About

Elizabeth is a percussionist who has performed, and recorded with headlining stars including John Legend, Dave Grohl, The Roots, Reggie Watts, Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, Sinead O’Connor, Harry Styles, Mark Ronson, Uri Caine, Chris Potter, Los Lobos, Michael Bublé, Zakir Hussain, and Elvis Costello as well as the house bands on the Conan O’Brien and James Cordon shows.. Elizabeth has studied in Cuba with Los Munequitos de Matanzas, and at Conjunto Folklórico Nacional School of Music in Havana. She has been featured in DRUM! magazine and has been studying and performing percussion for 30 years.  Elizabeth has been teaching Drumming for ACO at IS 229 Middle School since 2011(!) and  has also been teaching percussion and leadership skills through The Leadership Program since 2006.

Tom Nazziola is a composer and performer based in Brooklyn. Tom is  the musical director and composer for The BQE Project, a celebrated New York-based chamber ensemble known for its original compositions performed live-to-film throughout the world.  His music has been performed by ensembles including the Chicago Philharmonic Orchestra, Bang on a Can, and the Eastman Percussion Ensemble. Tom has received commissions and awards from groups such as the  American Composer’s Forum, VocalEssence, Brooklyn Center for the Performing Arts and most recently the Samuel Adler Grand Prize (2020). As a performer, Tom has played with artists such as Rufus Reid, Dave Liebman, and Bob Brookmeyer. He’s played percussion on Broadway productions including Martin Short’s “Fame Becomes Me” and Disney’s “Newsies.” He’s recorded on the soundtrack for Paramount Picture’s “Mad Hot Ballroom” and on Disney’s “Baby Einstein” CDs and DVDs. Tom is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and holds a masters degree in composition from Brooklyn College and a Ph.D. in composition from Rutgers University.

Violinist Sam Bardfeld is a member of The Jazz Passengers and a frequent collaborator of Bruce Springsteen’s. He has worked as a sideman with a long list of jazz, pop, folk and experimental acts including Elvis Costello, John Zorn, Calexico, Anthony Braxton, Henry Butler, Kris Davis, Savion Glover, Debbie Harry, John Cale, Steven Bernstein, Ingrid Laubrock, The String Trio of NY, The Red Clay Ramblers, Nancy Sinatra, Willie Colon, Dar Williams, Johnny Pacheco, and The Soldier String Quartet among others. Bardfeld’s latest recording, The Great Enthusiasms (BJUR, 2017), earned acclaim from top critics including Nate Chinen who called it “brilliantly odd and altogether lovely” (WBGO, 2017) and Bill Milkowski, who said he “combines a touch of Stuff Smith’s playfulness with a Charles Ives aesthetic – 4 Stars!” (Downbeat, 2017). His book, Latin Violin (Hal Leonard, 2002), is considered to be the authoritative work on the Afro-Cuban violin tradition. Bardfeld has also toured Europe multiple times with his own group.

Fabian Beltran, composer and pianist, is a native of Columbia. His music combines elements of classical, contemporary, popular, and Latin American music. Fabian has won numerous awards including the Music Now competition, Russell Horn Composition Award, Reed Holmes Music Composition Award, Memphis Belvedere Chamber Music Award, and UTSA COLFA Music Awards. His music has been performed across the U.S., Asia, and Latin America at venues including Carnegie Hall, National Sawdust, Symphony Space and at festivals such as Atlantic Music, Fresh Inc, Soundscapes, Kansas City Electronic Music & Arts Alliance, Vox Novus, and Aquila Concert Series.  Recent projects include performances and recordings by the International Contemporary Ensemble and the JACK Quartet. Currently Fabian is a teaching assistant and a Ph.D. fellow at New York University.  Besides composing, Fabian is an educator,  performer, amateur painter, and one of the co-founders of Sforzando Composer’s Collective, dedicated to the creation of multidisciplinary works in New York City.

Trevor New is a composer, classically trained violist, technologist, and educator that explores many contexts through music, visuals, and storytelling. His current projects are focused on exploring how we are connected, how we can make music together, near or far, and how these connections can effect the time and space we see as separate. Apart from writing for orchestra and smaller ensembles his work as a sound designer, engineer/producer, and performer can be found in a variety of media, including film scores, arranging, electronic music, TV. Trevor designs pieces where he plays his viola using Ableton Live for looping and effects, and performs in-person or in real-time synchronized multi-location networked performances with people around the world.