Bulgarian/Russian-born vocalist and composer Vlada Tomova blends Balkan and world sensibilities to create her own personal sound. Based in New York City, Vlada leads the world music ensemble Balkan Tales. She founded and led Yasna Voices, New York’s first Bulgarian Women’s Choir; and is a member of female vocal quartet Lila. Her work with the group Balkan Beat Box continues to receive international acclaim. Her voice is featured on National Geographic's touring exhibit King Tut, and was heard in the sound installationEchoes from the Mountains at the 2006 Winter Olympics in Italy. Vlada is a guest vocalist in demand in the world music and theatre communities, and recently collaborated on a Lorca puppet plays adaptation, Don Cristobal, and Fire Throws, a contemporary reading of Antigone.
Vlada’s recent appearances include Lincoln Center Out of Doors Festival (New York), Carnegie’s Zankel Hall and Weill Recital Hall (New York), the Montreal International Jazz Festival, Chicago World Music Festival, Toronto's Small World Festival, New York Summer Stage, the European Union-sponsored European Dream Festival (New York), and the Second Annual New York Gypsy Festival, among others.
A Berklee College of Music Graduate, Vlada teaches Bulgarian traditional singing and World Music Appreciation. She has presented workshops at Columbia University, Yale University, and Berklee College of Music, among others, and most recently collaborated on Carnegie Hall’s Musical Explorers educational concert series.
Chris Rael – Indian sitar, Portuguese guitar, voice
Chris Rael's acrobatic vocal style was influenced by years of classical music study in Varanasi, India. The sitarist/guitarist is leader of New York Indo-pop band Church of Betty, founder of indie label Fang Records, and producer of dozens of CDs and hundreds of live events in downtown New York. Composer of 300 songs and 25 CDs since 1989, he is currently developing the chamber musical Araby (inspired by James Joyce's Dubliners), composing feature songs and soundtracks for film (Outstanding Score Award at Outfest Film Festival, Los Angeles 2005), and developing The Lazarus Rose, a Sephardic music project with Bulgarian chanteuse Vlada Tomova.
Church of Betty was part of the first wave of progressive acts through the original Knitting Factory, and later became a regular favorite at Greenwich Village's legendary Bottom Line. Rael has performed at Town Hall, Lincoln Center & Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York, Sydney Opera House, the Secession Building in Vienna, the National Mall in Washington DC, the Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, Berlin, London, Dublin, Glasgow, Mexico City, Varanasi, Eastern Canada and across America, with numerous appearances on National Public Radio. He has collaborated with many dozens of artists, including Penny Arcade, Oasis, Annabella Lwin (Bow Wow Wow), David Byrne, Stew (Passing Strange), Najma, Johnny Society, Elliott Sharp, Curt Smith (Tears for Fears), Jayne County, Samir Chatterjee, Amar Nath Mishra, Steve Gorn, John Kelly, Rebecca Moore, Frank London (Klezmatics), Shara Worden (My Brightest Diamond), White Magic, West Indian Girl, Ida, Gordy Goudie (Echo and the Bunnymen), Steve Shelley (Sonic Youth), Charles Henri Ford, Marty Matz, Ira Cohen, and Life in a Blender.
Kyle Sanna – acoustic guitar
Guitarist and composer, Kyle Sanna, has performed and recorded with many of today’s giants of acoustic music, including Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Chris Thile, Darol Anger, and Mike Marshall. Kyle’s arrangements can be heard on Yo-Yo Ma’s latest album Songs of Joy and Peace (Sony Classical), guitarist Kaki King’s Dreaming of Revenge (Velour), and an arrangement of Jimi Hendrix’s Machine Gun for cello and orchestra on Jan Vogler and The Knights Experience: Live from New York (Sony Classical). Kyle has performed original and improvised music in Canada, Luxembourg, France, Germany, and throughout the U.S. at such venues as Carnegie Hall, concert halls at The Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Cal Arts, UCLA, and others.
Mathias Kunzli – percussion
Swiss drummer/percussionist Mathias Kunzli started out playing in local rock and folk groups and then joined the Swiss Youth Jazz Orchestra, with which he performed for several years. After relocating to Boston and earning a degree from Berklee College of Music, Mathias moved to New York City. Mathias has performed or recorded with a diverse palette of artists, such as Moby, Lauryn Hill, Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Project, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Vieux Farka Toure, Randy Brecker, Bob Berg, Marc Ribot, John Zorn’s Electric Masada, Jamey Haddad, Yanka Roupkina, Theodosii Spassov, Bakithi Kumalo, Savina Yannatou, The Paul Winter Consort, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Frank London, and Gary Burton.
Mike Savino – bass
Multi-instrumentalist and composer Mike Savino hails from Long Island, NY, and moved to New York City in 1999. While pursuing a B.F.A. at New School University's prestigious Jazz & Contemporary Music Program, Mike studied double bass with jazz luminaries Reggie Workman, Michael Moore, Francois Moutin, and Billy Hart. It was during this time that he discovered a passion for folkloric music and rhythms from around the world, which in turn led him back to explore the folk traditions of his own country. Upon returning from a tour in Brazil, Savino took up the 5-string banjo and began writing songs for alt-folk quartet Tall Tall Trees. In 2009, he wrote, recorded, and produced the band's self-titled debut album, which is making waves for its unique blend of bluegrass, indie rock and world beat. Savino has collaborated with a diverse array of artists, including Nation Beat, Kate Havnevik, Leroy Powell, Gina Gershon, Michel Gondry, Ljova, Mary Wilson (The Supremes), Mikail Barishnikov, and The Klezmatics.
