FOUNDER, DIRECTOR, GUITARIST

Alan Retamozo is an experienced composer with advanced degrees in composition and years of experience in production and arts administration. He is also a versatile and highly trained professional jazz and classical guitarist with performance credits including ACL Live at the Moody Theater, Joe Lovano, Andre Hayward, Joshua Banbury, Austin Classical Guitar, and SoundSpace Series at The Blanton Museum of Art.

As a composer/arranger, Alan has extensive experience scoring for orchestral and chamber jazz and classical ensembles as well as multi-media, dance, and electronic formats. His current professional composition trajectory is in film and media scoring.

He holds degrees in jazz composition from Berklee College of Music (BA) and the University of Texas, Butler School of Music (MM)

VIOLINIST

Violinist Christabel Lin was born in New Zealand and made her first major solo appearance with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra (New Zealand) at the age of 10 for an audience of 250,000. Since then, she has appeared as a soloist with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, Christchurch Symphony Orchestra (NZ), Taichung Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan), the Austin Civic Orchestra (Austin, TX) and the Vienna Conservatory Chamber Orchestra in venues such as the Sydney Opera House and the Wiener Musikverein, home of the Vienna Philharmonic.

Christabel holds a Master's degree in violin performance from the Vienna Conservatory. In 2012 she was a full time violin player in the ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra in Vienna.

She also frequently plays with major pop and commercial artists. Performance credits include: Japanese Breakfast, The Who, Michael Bublé, Rapsody, BLK ODYSSY, Magna Carda, and Reid Umstattd (The Voice)

TRUMPET

Mike Sailors spent nearly a decade in New York’s most well-known jazz haunts honing his chops, eventually working with some of Jazz music’s most celebrated stars and organizations, including Wynton Marsalis and Jazz at Lincoln Center, as well as newer bands like Postmodern Jukebox and The Hot Sardines. He has toured internationally and played at festivals including The Tokyo Blue Note Jazz Festival and the Detroit International Jazz Festival.

He is Professor of Jazz Trumpet at UT Austin.

VIOLINIST

Originally from Santa Barbara, California, Camille Schiess is one of Austin’s most versatile and in-demand violinists for recording sessions and live performance. She is a member of Austin bands American Dreamer and Magnolia Kids and has played at Blues On The Green and ACL Live at the Moody Theater. Camille holds a B.M. from San Francisco Conservatory and a Masters Degree from UT Austin.

She is a three time winner of the Granada Music and Arts Soloist Competition, soloing with members of the Santa Barbara Symphony. Other solo performances recently include the ACO Texas Rising Star competition in 2017.

CELLIST

Originally hailing from Long Beach, CA, Matthew Gustafson has been a top prize-winner in the American Protégé International Piano & Strings Competition and has performed as a guest artist on NPR’s From the Top radio program and on stages across the nation, including Walt Disney Concert Hall (California), Sosnoff Theater at the Fischer Center for the Performing Arts and Carnegie’s Stern Auditorium and Weill Recital Hall (New York). He has participated in the Aspen Music Festival & School (2016), the Tanglewood Music Center (2017), the first International Piatigorsky Festival (2012), and the National Cello Institute. In lessons and masterclasses, he has worked with members of renowned quartets including the Miró, Talich, Telegraph, Juilliard and Ébène Quartets.

VIOLINIST, AUDIO TECHNICIAN

Nick Montopoli is an award-winning composer, arranger, and engineer for screen and stage. Hailed by the Washington Post as a performer with “no-fail agility,” Nick is one of the most versatile performers in the Austin area. He is a founding member of Invoke, an award-winning folk-infused ensemble, and has shared the stage with dozens of artists from different genres.

He performs and records for international stars and local artists alike.

CELLIST

Composer and cellist Sophie Mathieu recently completed her masters in composition at UT Austin’s Butler School of Music. She completed her undergraduate studies in composition at the University of Southern California. Her music has won numerous awards, including the orchestral work, moons, which recently received an ASCAP Morton Gould award.

​As a cellist, Sophie loves exploring non-classical genres, such as pop, jazz, and film music, and has performed and recorded at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Capitol Records, the Nief-Norf Summer Festival, and the Clint Eastwood Scoring Stage.

​In addition to composing and performing, Sophie teaches composition, cello, and chamber music, and is the Youth Director at Golden Hornet.

BASSIST

James Suter is one of the most in-demand bassists in Austin. Hailing from South Florida, he recently received a Doctorate in Music and Arts from The University of Texas at Austin.

He has shared the stage with Gary Burton, Chris Potter, Dave Holland, Matt Wilson, Gilad Hekselman, Ellis Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Jimmy Heath, Andre Hayward, Joe Lovano, Steve Davis, Joey Calderazzo, Ira Sullivan, and many others. He is on faculty as a bass instructor at Austin Community College and Temple College.

CELLIST

Rylie maintains a busy performance schedule that takes her all over the world. Favorite performances have been sharing the stage with Yo Yo Ma, the Dallas String Quartet, Guster, Ben Folds, The Eagles, and Third Eye Blind. She has shared her artistry on 4 continents and is eager to add to the list.

Rylie is one of the most versatile cellists around, effortlessly switching from her trained classical upbringing to rock, pop, and country music with ease. Often looking for a laugh, she enjoys creating cello content on social media, with a few viral videos being featured on TwoSet Violin, Classic FM, and The Violin Channel. She records regularly as a session musician in Austin for visiting artists, most recently with Third Eye Blind, Whiskey Myers, and Paula Nelson.

GUITARIST

A native of Austin, Texas, Jacob Wise is an accomplished jazz guitarist and educator.

Jacob earned his M.M. in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas where he was a member of the renowned One O'Clock Lab Band and a Graduate Teaching Fellow. He has studied privately or participated in masterclasses with Adam Rogers, Peter Bernstein, Lage Lund, and Dave Stryker. He spent four years working in the show band aboard Princess Cruises, traveling the world and visiting over 30 countries and he has 2 albums of original music: Paseo, and Jacob Wise Trio.

He is an assistant professor at Austin Community College, where he teaches lessons and classes, and also maintains a busy private teaching studio.

AUDIO TECHNICIAN

Jordan Walsh is a percussionist, audio engineer, and educator based in Austin, Texas. Frequently engaged as a solo performer, Jordan has appeared as a guest at the SEAMUS conference, the New York City Electroacoustic Music Festival, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention.

He currently serves as Assistant Professor of Applied Percussion at Southwestern University and as Adjunct Associate Professor of Percussion & Audio Technology at Austin Community College. Jordan is also an active audio engineer and producer, working independently as well as for the University of Texas at Austin. He has acted as technical director for the Southeastern Composer’s Symposium, run live sound for artists ranging from Gina Chavez to John Psathas, and spent two seasons as the voice of classical music radio show “Classical Overnight”, which airs on WCUG 88.5 FM in Columbus, Georgia.

Jordan holds both Doctorate and Master’s Degrees from the University of Texas at Austin, and a Bachelor’s degree from Columbus State University.

PIANIST & AUDIO TECHNICIAN

Jessy Eubanks is a pianist, music educator, and audio/video engineer based in Austin, Texas. She is also a singer/songwriter, composer, and arranger. She holds a Bachelor of Music and a Minor in Business from the University of Texas at Austin.

As an audio engineer she works with Life in the City Church and the University of Texas Butler School of Music. Her freelance work includes clients such as Austin Classical Guitar, KMFA Classical 89.5, and the Austin Civic Orchestra. She works with recorded and live sound in addition to video editing, live camera switching, and camera operation.

GUITARIST

Marco is a guitarist, arranger, composer, and music educator. He holds a Master of Music degree in Jazz Performance and a Doctorate of Music in Jazz Composition.

Throughout his 15+ years as a professional musician, Santos has performed extensively in Brazil and the United States, navigating freely between jazz, funk, pop, and Brazilian music. While at UT, he was the recipient of a Downbeat Magazine Award (2017). In 2022, Santos became chair of the guitar panel at the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), where he has been a member of the jury since 2021.

Santo’s debut album About: Silence (Ears&Eyes Records) has garnered rave reviews both in the US and internationally. He plays regularly at every Austin jazz venue including The Elephant Room, Monk’s, and Parker Jazz Club.