Aaron Kula, music director and accordion, has been teaching, arranging and performing ethnic music for 30 years. He joined the Florida Atlantic University faculty in 1997 and in the fall of 2003, was named director of music collections and performance at FAU Libraries, where his activities include archiving, lecturing, composing and performing. Kula is also on the faculty at New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, where he has been conducting orchestras since 1986 and has taught conducting at Boston University. As a conductor he has worked with the Boston Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Boston Conservatory Symphony, Santa Fe Symphony, New Hampshire Ballet and others internationally, and renowned artists including cellist Yo-Yo Ma and clarinetist Richard Stoltzman. Kula holds degrees in music and Judaic studies from the University of Minnesota and in orchestral conducting with distinction from New England Conservatory.

Elena Correia, vocalist, received her Master of Music from The Juilliard School and her Bachelor of Music from San Diego State University. She has performed with the Aspen Opera Theater Center, Juilliard Opera Theater, San Diego State Opera Theater, Sarasota Opera and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra. Among her awards are first prizes in the prestigious Graz (Austria) Meistersinger Competition, the NATS Competition and the San Diego District of the Metropolitan Opera Competition.

Jackie De Los Santos, double bass and guitar, is the assistant principal bassist with the Florida Classical Orchestra and the Florida Grand Opera. She has performed with world renowned artists including Andrea Bocelli, Sarah Chang and Yo-Yo Ma. A native New Yorker, Jackie earned her Master and Bachelor of Music degrees from The Juilliard School. She has served as music collections specialist in Special Collections and Archives at FAU Libraries. 

Randi Fishenfeld, violin, studied privately with Juilliard professor Sylvan Schulman. Randi performs with her own band throughout South Florida. She is in demand as a recording artist and has performed with such national acts as Kansas, America, Air Supply, B.B. King, Bruce Springsteen, Dave Valentine, Clarence Clemons and Nestor Torres. Randi also teaches violin to pre-college and adult students.

Teresa Flores, percussion, is a native of Los Angeles where she received her Bachelor of Music from the University of Southern California. She has performed with such artists as Louie Bellson, Poncho Sanchez, Glen Velez and Mick Fleetwood. Teresa received her Master of Music from Florida International University and teaches music in the Miami-Dade school system.

Doug Friend, drum set, attended the world renowned Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington where he studied percussion with Richard Johnson and George Gaber and jazz with David Baker. Doug has performed with the Miami City Ballet, Florida Grand Opera, Florida Symphonic Pops, Palm Beach Pops, Palm Beach Symphony, Boca Raton Symphonia and was a member of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra from 1986 through 2003.

Scott Klarman, saxophones and flute, is a multi-talented instrumentalist who began his musical studies with his father, an accomplished classical, commercial and recording musician. Scott has performed at the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Montreux Jazz Festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival. An innovative improvisational musician, he is an active jazz and big band freelance and recording artist. Scott attended Miami Dade College and studied with international recording artist Ed Calle.

David Levitan, trombone, a native of South Florida, received a Bachelor of Music from the University of Florida and attended University of North Florida’s American Music Studies for jazz studies. He worked as a musical director, composer and performer for Disney and performed for internationally renowned acts including Joe Williams, Herbie Hancock, Clint Holmes, Lisa Donovan and the national tour of Hello Dolly, starring Carol Channing.

Stas Pomerants, clarinet, a native of the former Soviet Union, moved to Vilnius, Lithuania, where he studied at the Dvarionas Music School. He attended the Rubin Conservatory of Music in Jerusalem and performed with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and Israeli Army Chamber Orchestra. Stas received a bachelor’s degree in performance from the Conservatory of Music at Lynn University. He performs with Miami City Ballet and Palm Beach Opera.

Chaim Rubinov, trumpet and flugelhorn, is a native of Montreal, Canada. He has toured the U.S. and South America and performed with artists including Marvin Hamlisch, Nestor Torres, Tito Puente, Jr., David Sanchez and Melton Mustafa. Chaim’s career includes directing a professional 11-piece band on cruise ships, composing, arranging and recording national radio and television commercials. Chaim holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of North Texas State and works for FreeHand Systems, a digital music company.

Zachary Eldridge, drum set, a versatile percussionist, has performed since age 14.  Zach began his studies in New York and Delaware and later pursued drum set studies at Berklee College of Music in Boston. He studied with Kenwood Dennard and Harvey Price and completed a bachelor’s in Percussion Performance at the University of Delaware. He is currently completing his masters in percussion at FIU in Miami, where he also is a music coach for the FIU Golden Panther Band.  Zach has performed with Arturo Sandavol, Walter Beasley and Dennis Deblasio.  He is an active orchestral percussionist with several Florida orchestras, including the South West Florida Symphony, Palm Beach Opera Orchestra and Palm Beach Symphony. He recently toured the U.S. and Europe with the pop group NRWO.