ALPER TUZCU

The globetrotting Turkish musician Alper Tuzcu's sound is rooted in RnB & Jazz and informed by music from around the world.

The U.S. based composer have spent the best part of the past five years joining dots around the world together in the pursuit different sounds, uniting them through his vision of crossing the borders and blurring the lines between cultures.

Whereas his 2016 debut album ‘Between 12 Waters' was influenced by Flamenco, Chanson and 1920's Rebetiko records, 2018's 'Aurora’ hops east over to India take inspiration in undiscovered mystic sounds of the Middle-East and from Turkey.

His engaging performances feature collaborations with his group of close musical friends from all over the world, which won him performances at discerning venues and festivals such as Umbria Jazz Festival, City of Arts and Sciences, Institute of Contemporary Art and YouBloom Festival. 

In 2016, Tuzcu was selected as a voting member to the GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy, being the youngest Turkish musician to achieve this distinction. Tuzcu has also recorded twice with multiple GRAMMY winning composer, producer, and flamenco virtuoso Javier Limon (Buika, Paco de Lucia, Mariza, Wynton Marsalis, Bebo & Chucho Valdes).

An alumni of Berklee College of Music, where he graduated with Magna Cum Laude in Bachelor of Music in 2015, Alper Tuzcu is also an alumni of Denison University, where he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree of Economics in 2011.

BENGİSU GÖKÇE

Bengisu Gokce, a violinist & singer, was born in Istanbul, Turkey. She started to play the violin at the age of seven and earned a bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance at Mersin University State Conservatory.

From 2012 to 2013, she studied at Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin, Germany with Professor Stephan Picard. During her studies, she performed with several national and international orchestras as a soloist and section member.

She has also shared the stage with worldwide known artists such as Tigran Hamasyan, Mark O’Connor, Pablo Ziegler, Toninho Horta, Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal, Aynur Dogan, Amal Murkus and many more.

Some of her awards are Gulden Turali National Violin Competition 3rd Prize (2004 and 2008), Berklee Concerto Competition (2015), Berklee Performance Division String Award (2016) and Arif Mardin Scholarship (2017). In 2018 she graduated from Berklee College of Music.

SRISHTI BIYANI

Born in India and based in Boston, Srishti Biyani is a multifaceted artist and music technologist. Trained in hindustani classical vocals and bansuri at an early age, she combines her classical music roots with her flair for electronic production.

She has performed with internationally acclaimed artists such as Shankar Mahadevan, Tigran Hamasyan, Nona Hendryx and others. She performs and produces under her stage name “LASYA”.

TANO BROCK

Tano Brock was born and raised in San Francisco, CA. At a young age, he began attending various music camps in California with his family, where he picked up his first instrument, darbuka. He began studying piano at age 7, and taught himself guitar at age 13. He then continued to expand his repertoire of instruments, adding saxophone and clarinet at age 13, and laouto at 17. In 2014 he cofounded a Balkan/Latin group called Taraf de Locos, and in 2015, he engineered and produced the band’s debut album. Following the release of the album, the band toured across the U.S., playing in venues from California all the way to New York City and Boston. After the tour, Tano went to Eastern Europe to study music. He spent time in Albania, Greece, Turkey, and Macedonia studying with master musicians including Albanian clarinetist Zhani Struga, and members of Kočani Orkestar. In 2019, Tano traveled back to Istanbul, Turkey and studied with clarinet virtuoso Burakcan Güneren. Tano is currently based in Boston as he finishes his studies at Berklee College of Music. He performs regularly with numerous groups including Sarma Brass Band, a Balkan brass band he formed in 2017. Tano released a solo album of original music in 2014, and is currently working on his second album, set to release within the next year. He also works frequently as a composer for advertisements, TV, and film.

JUAN PABLO TELLO

Juan Pablo Tello, born in Cali, Colombia is a Hand Percussionist, Composer and Music Producer Student at Berklee College of Music.

At an early age his parents enrolled him at the Conservatory and letter on he started performing in multiple sceneries and events with local bands and Conservatory’s orchestra around Colombia.

In 2011 he toured through France, Spain and Italy as a member of Youngsters Symphonic Orchestra “LVDC”. In 2012, he moved to New Jersey USA and years later to Boston MA, mainly to pursuit his music studies at a professional level. As a Berklee student, Juan has performed, recorded and worked along outstanding music students and well-known Musicians.