ABOUT
Get to Know Us!
We come from the United States, Haiti, Spain, Mexico, and Bolivia.
COMPOSER & CONDUCTOR
Sydney Guillaume
Praised by the Miami Herald for their “impressive maturity and striking melodic distinction”, Sydney Guillaume’s compositions are known to be intricate, challenging and yet highly spirited. They promote human values and are full of heart and passion. His compositions continually enthrall choirs everywhere and have been performed around the world. They have been featured at numerous conferences and international festivals like the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the World Choir Games and Ireland’s Cork International Choral Festival. He is an active member of the choral community as a composer, singer, clinician and conductor. Guillaume also writes film music – he has written original film and documentary scores for the Los Angeles based company Loyola Productions.
TRUMPET
Cara Pollard
Cara Pollard is a freelance trumpet player and teacher both nationally and internationally. She has performed and taught in Haiti, Spain, Britain, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and the United States. Dr. Pollard recorded her first solo album esto no es una trompeta in 2015 and has since recorded two albums with the international instrumental ensemble Imbroglio Sextet. Imbroglio Haitiano which was recorded in Pamplona, Spain in 2017 and Greetings from Gran Hostal El Chiscon recorded in Madrid, Spain at Estudio Uno in 2019. All three albums are available on iTunes, Spotify, and YouTube
Dr. Cara Pollard has been teaching adjunct at Texas Christian University in Ft Worth, since the spring of 2015. Before TCU, she was an Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Tarleton State University from 2007-2011 where she taught trumpet, jazz history, brass methods, and popular music. She was also a Visiting Assistant Professor at Texas Tech University School of Music from 2002-2007. While at Texas Tech she taught jazz history, music history, and trumpet.
Dr. Pollard holds the Bachelor of Science degree in Radio Television Film from the University of Texas at Austin, and the Master's Degree in Music Education from New Mexico State University at Las Cruces as well as a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Trumpet Performance from Texas Tech University. She is a freelance trumpet player and a founding member of the Imbroglio Sextet (International). Dr. Pollard is also the assistant principal trumpet player for the Fort Worth Civic Orchestra.
Dr. Pollard also performed as guest principal trumpet for L'Orchestre Philharmonique Sainte-Trinité (OPST) Haiti in 2013-14 as well as the International Trumpet Festival in Port-au-Prince, Haiti 2015 and the 2004 Buenos Aires Festival Internacional de Musica. Before receiving her doctorate at Texas Tech, Dr. Pollard was a band director in Joshua, Texas teaching 6th - 12th grade band and jazz band. She is an active member of ISME, JEN, and ITG. Dr. Pollard has also worked in radio for over fifteen years including hosting her own jazz radio show in Las Cruces, New Mexico; Lubbock, and Stephenville, Texas.
Dr. Pollard plays Bach, Schilke and Pollard trumpets, and Couesnon flugelhorn. She is currently available for solo and ensemble bookings.
CLARINET
Salvador Contreras Gila
A native of Albanchez de Magina (Jaen), began his musical studies at the Conservatory of Music of Jaén. Actively participates in numerous courses with clarinetists such as José Luis Estellés, Josep Foster, Larry Passin, Carlos Casadó, among others.In late 1999, combines his work address and didactic work for the Association Cultural-Musical "Salvador Contreras" pursuing their higher studies. Getting in June 2002 Title of Professor of Music, specializing in Clarinet at the Conservatory of Music of Malaga. Along with teaching certificate from the University of Jaén in April of that year. Currently he is Professor at the Special Music School "Joaquín Maya" in Pamplona since 2003, after passing through other schools. Develop your artistic side participating in various chamber groups, collaborated with "The Pamplonesa" (Band of Pamplona), was a member of the Orchestra "AGAO" is part of the trio of 2KC House (clarinet, cello and piano) and is Member of "Imbroglio Sextet" international training that was developed in the summer camps Cange (Haiti) in the years 2013-2014.
VIOLIN
David Otto Castrillo
He was born in Huesca, Spain in 1988 where he studied intermediate degree of violin at the Professional Conservatory.
In 2010 he finished his violin studies at the Superior Conservatory of Music from País Vasco “Musikene” in San Sebastián under the tutelage of Catalin Bucataru.
From 2011 to 2013 he studied a master of violin performance with the violinist Carolin Widmann at the “Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy" School of Music and Theatre in Leipzig (Germany).
From 2013 to 2015 he covers an academic position with the Konzerthaus Symphony Orchestra Berlin in which he is later hired as a tutti violinist until July 2016.
In March 2017 he begins an interim contract with the Euskadi Symphony Orchestra in Spain.
During the 2017/18 season he covers the position of first violin soloist with the Bilbao Symphony Orchestra.
He also performs assiduously with the National Orchestra of Spain, Orchestra from Comunitat Valenciana, Gran Canaria Philharmonic Orchestra, Navarra Symphony Orchestra, Oviedo Filarmonia, and Castilla y Leon Symphony Orchestra, as well as with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in 2013, National Youth Orchestra of Spain from 2009 to 2012, Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in 2010, and European Youth Orchestra in 2013.
VIOLIN
Katie Von Braun
Violinist Katie von Braun is an active chamber musician, freelance orchestral player and teacher in the New York Area. Katie is a current faculty member at Harmony Program, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, and Opus 118 Harlem School of Music. She received her B.M. with a minor in Anthropology from the University of Michigan, Magna Cum Laude, and has completed her M.M. from San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Katie has held the position of concertmaster and principal 2nd violin in the SFCM orchestra & Brevard Festival Orchestra, and assistant concertmaster of Aspen Festival Orchestra. With her string quartet Amaranth, she has premiered works by local composers, collaborated with non classical Bay Area artists, recorded an SFCM promotional video, and performed countless weddings and events. Katie has studied privately with Ian Swensen, Paul Kantor, and Yehonatan Berick, and has performed in masterclasses for Pam Frank, Norman Fischer, Brentano String Quartet, Pacifica String Quartet and Geoff Nuttall. As a freelance musician, she has experience performing symphonic repertoire, opera, musical theatre, video game scores, contemporary and baroque music.
VIOLIN
Javier Escalera Soria
A native of La Paz, Bolivia, violinist Javier Escalera is now one of the concertmasters of the Boca del Río Philharmonic in Mexico and Violin Instructor at the social program ¨Orquestando Armonía¨. He holds a MM from Florida State University and a BM summa cum laude from Western Illinois University, where he was part of the President’s International String Quartet. In 2005, he was the winner of the National Violin Competition in Bolivia, and in 2008, he won the MTNA Illinois Competition, thus advancing to the National Finals where he received a merit award. As soloist, he has performed with the WIU chamber orchestra at the Illinois Music Educators Association Conference and at the American String Teachers Association National Conference. He has performed at Festivals such as Brevard, Manchester, Interlochen, Bolivia Clásica, and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas Caribbean Tour and recently taught and performed at the Bolivian Chamber Music Society concert and class series and at the summer camps of the Ecole de Musique Sainte Trinité and the Academie Musicale Occide Jeanty in Haiti. He studied with Corinne Stillwell, Julieta Mihai, and Istvan Szabo, and he is alumni of the YOA Global Leaders Program.
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VIOLIN
Leire Fernández
Leire Fernández Sainz de Murieta was born in Pamplona, Northern Spain. She started to play the violin at the age of 8 and completed her school and conservatoire studies in her home city. She moved to London in 2004 after obtaining her Bachelor's Degree in Violin and Teaching. She finished her Postgraduate Violin Studies with John Crawford and Michael Bochman at Trinity College of Music of London in 2006. In 2007 she was a member of Southbank Sinfonia and one year later she got a permanent violin teaching position at the Escuela de Música del Valle de Egüés (music school), in Navarra.
Since 2008, Leire has been performing regularly with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra and has also collaborated with Orquesta Ciudad de Almería. She is a current member of the Orquesta Ciudad de Pamplona (which she also helps to manage) and the chamber music groups: Triart Ensemble with the baroque violín, and Zura Quartet, which takes most of her musical life at the moment.
CELLO
Javier Navascués
He began his musical studies in Pamplona, at the Conservatorio "Pablo Sarasate". Later in Madrid took lessons with Maria de Macedo and Elias Arizcuren Ezcurra. He finished his studies with the "End Career Award, Grado Superior". He also won first prize in the competition of Chamber Music "Fernando Remacha" being part of the string quartet "Fernando Remacha" which later became the quartet "Marnay" with which for twenty years has participated in many events, emphasizing the interpretation of the integral of the string quartets of WA Mozart in 2006. He also works occasionally with the Navarra Symphony Orchestra (OSN) and Basque National Orchestra (OSE). Currently he is professor of cello at the School of Music "Joaquín Maya" of Pamplona. At the same time is part of chamber groups as HelloCello!, Imbroglio Sextet, Triart, Danserie, 2KC or Ensemble Asysyen, playing modern and baroque cello and viola da gamba.
VIOLA
Lucía Nuín Armendariz
Beginning her musical studies in Pamplona, extending later with Professor Christian Ifrim. She was a member of the Youth Orchestra of Spain, also working with other orchestras of her country. Currently she teaches at music school "Luis Morondo", Barañain. Collaborates with various chamber music groups such as Chamber Orchestra "Pamplona XXI", Imbroglio Sextet, etc.
VOCALIST
Amy Stewart
Amy Pummill Stewart, singer, organist, pianist, and conductor, currently is the Assistant Organist at University Christian Church and teaches in the School of Music, TCU. She conducts the TCU Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Purple White and Blues, and teaches Ear Training, From Rock to Bach, and Intro to University Life. She has a BM in Vocal Performance, MM in Organ Performance from TCU and Doctor of Worship Studies degree from the Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies. After graduating from TCU in 2000, she made her home in New York City. While there, Amy appeared in many solo venues and was the featured soloist in four concerts with the New York Pops Orchestra at Carnegie Hall with Skitch Henderson. Amy started as a young child in the recording studio where she performed on hundreds of recordings for educational and choral publications and commercials. Amy has been featured as soloist with the Windsong Chamber Choir, an Oklahoma based professional chamber choir, TCU Concert Chorale, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Santa Fe Symphony Orchestra, the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra, the Arlington Master Chorale, and has performed in productions with the Fort Worth Opera, Parterre Box Opera Troup in New York City, and with Theaterhof Zwei Groschen Oper in Humbach, Germany. She occasionally tours around the country with her family's four piano-four voice show, ClaviVoce. Amy has also served as organist and worship leader at a number of churches including South Hills Christian Church in Fort Worth, First Presbyterian Church in Urbana, Illinois, Noroton Presbyterian Church in Darien, Connecticut, Westminster Presbyterian Church in Oklahoma City. Amy is married to Jack Stewart and they make their home in Fort Worth with their puppies, Bear and Callie.
LOGISTICS + SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Zak Sparks
Guest Members
The following people have performed with us or worked with us.
Don Cento - Producer, Dr. Amy Strewart - Vocals, Dr. Josh Davies - Trumpet/Arranger, Jonathan Hooper - Trombone/Arranger, Dave French and Rush Olsen - Film, Paqui Navarette - Photographer
Alvaro Santiago - Violin* (Pamplona), Nina Sunyer - Viola (Barcelona) - Spain tour 2015, Maria de la Luz - Oboe (Mexico) Armenian/Azerbaijan Tour 2018, Sergio Escalara - Piano (Bolivia) Armenian/Azerbaijan Tour 2018, Brusk Zanganeh - Violin (Sweden) Armenian/Azerbaijan Tour 2018, Rick Stitzel - Arranger, Aaron Stanley - Arranger/Composer, Justin Childress - Album Design, Carolyn Boyett - Manager, James Driscoll - Mastering, Fort Worth Sound - Extra Recording
RECORDED AT ESTUDIO UNO, COLMENAR VIEJO, MADRID, SPAIN
Manuel Pájaro, Recording Engineer, Estudio Uno, Pablo Sánchez, Estudio Assistant, Eduardo Lavilla, Estudio Assistant, Abel Vallés, Estudio Assistant, Mikel Begiristain, Estudio Assistant
ORCHESTRA DE PAYIZ:
Sergio Pamies Rodriguez - Piano, Mehrdad Gholami - Flute, Tyler Romesberg - Oboe, Heather Test - French horn, Paul Unger - Bass, Amy Stewart (Payiz, Amarilli) - Vocals, Juan Manuel Consuegra Naranjo (Armenian Rhapsody) - Piano, Julio Racine - Composer/Arranger, Joey Carter - Arranger, Nadje Noorhuis - Composer, Brandon Brown - Composer, Jim Stephenson - Composer, John Jost - Arranger, Richard Casimir - Arranger, Recorded at CTL Escuela de Imagen y Sonido in Pamplona, Spain by Jesus Losarcos (Imbroglio Haitiano Album - 2016)
*One of the original violinists