MESTO: Multi-Ethnic Star Orchestra

MUSICIANS
Auditions to join
MESTO

COMPOSERS
who use ethnic musical themes

NEWS!
Current Affairs
Dec. 2010

This List of Musicians is Partial and Will Be Completed Soon Leola Wagner \| Jamie Papish \| David Martinelli \| T. J. Troy\| John Graves \| Jeff Schwartz \| Joseph Chamaa \| Hans Philips \| \|Fahd Shaaban\|Paula Kuhr\|George Kuhr \|Laura Halladay\|Armen Khatchatrian \| Tom Johnes \| Charlie Gould \| Lilit Khojayan \| Bob Applebaum \| Lisa Belding \|Meghan Askins \| Chris Henry \| Harriette Katz \|Iva Katalieva \| Edgar Sandoval \| Dennis Timashpolsky \| Anna Papikian \| Alice Sakharov \| Jacqueline Suzuki \| Ray Reinebach \| Hans Phillips \| Claire Bergen \| Miamon Miller \| Nabil Azzam

	Leola Wagner		Concertmistress of MESTO. Leola Wagner was a protégé of Josef Piastro, attended USC, and was an honor scholarship student at L.A. City College. She was Concertmistress and principal violinist with the Nevada Valley Orchestra, Sinfonietta Strings and Committee on the Arts Orchestra. ORCHESTRA: under the batons of Metropolis, Heller, Strelitzer, Rachmilovich, Yanni and Mauceri. Tours have been throughout California and Nevada, with more concerts at major universities, performances for stage shows, radio, the Los Angeles Ford Theater and the Carson Show. GUEST ARTIST: on cable TV and has appeared and performed as soloist on the TV show JAG. In addition, Leola is active on various boards, including the New Valley Symphony Executive Board. Leola is a pedagogue with a private music studio. She freelances, is a recording artist and was recent guest soloist with the L.A. Seoul Choral (C.D.). She is a chamber and orchestral musician here and abroad.



	Hans Phillips		Hans started playing violin and viola at nine years of age, studying with various teachers in Decatur, Illinois, where he grew up. Upon relocating to Los Angeles, he was a protege of Jean Little of the USC School of Music. He studied music at LA Valley College. More recently, he has studied viola with Mischa Lefkowitz of the LA Philharmonic. Over the years, he has played with many different orchestras, performed in musicals, operas, etc., and is currently active in two major string quartets. At the present time, he plays in both the New Valley Symphony Orchestra and MESTO (The Multi- Ethnic Star Orchestra). Recently MESTO traveled to Dearborne, Michigan to play for the opening of an Arab-American Museum. A goodwill concert is planned for Jordan in the near future. In 2005, Hans had the pleasure of playing in Eisenstadt, Austria for a "Haydn Music Festival." Although music was not his primary professions, he played continuously throughout his career and it has always been his great love.

	Jamie Papish		In a relatively short period of time, Jamie has made a name for himself in the Los Angeles World Music Scene as a passionate percussionist of Middle Eastern styles. He maintains a hectic performance and recording schedule as a member of MESTO since it first started in 2000 and the critically acclaimed Yuval Ron Ensemble as well, The Stefani Valadez Ensemble, Extreme Klezmer Makeover, The Nashuva Band and Suzanne Teng's Mystic Journey to name a few. Jamie has performed at such notable venues as the Zipper Hall at the Colburn School of Music, Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, Ford Amphitheatre, the Skirball Cultural Center, the Getty Museum, the Hammer Museum, UCLA's Fowler Museum, The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Cal Tech , Occidental College, Boston College, Brandeis University, Brandeis Bardin Institute, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Johns Hopkins University, The Islamic Center or Los Angeles and USC and has performed at international festivals in Poland, South Korea, Israel and Mexico. Jamie's playing can be found on a Yuval Ron's 'Under the Olive Tree' and 'Tree of Life'; MESTO's 'The Crecent'; Extreme Klezmer Makeover's 'Under Construction'; Sequoia Groove's 'Holel Tara', Movies: 'How To Go Out on a Date in Queens' and 'West Bank Story', and television show 'Sleeper Cell'.

	David Martinelli		David Martinelli is a drummer, percussionist and composer specializing in improvised, electronic, and Near Eastern music. He is currently performing Middle Eastern music with Mesto, the UCLA Near Eastern Ensemble, and Yuval Ron and Friends. He also is part of Surrealestate, an improvised and new music group based in Los Angeles. He can be heard on Robert Reigle's The Marriage of Heaven and Earth (Acoustic Levitation, 1999) and Surrealestate's Contrafactum (Acoustic Levitation, 2000). He has a M. A. Degree in Ethnomusicology from UCLA.

	Jeff Schwartz		Jeff Schwartz plays double bass in the ensembles MESTO, Surrealestate and Otocine. He freelances in jazz, musical theater, and other styles. Jeff studies with David H. Young. Active in LA's avant-garde music scene, he has performed at events and venues including Line Space Line, the Edgemar Center for the Arts, 21 Grand, REDCAT, Gallery 4016, the Big Sur Experimental Music Festival, LA Sound/Shift, the Long Beach Soundwalk, and the Silverlake Film Festival. He has given conference papers on music and cultural studies and published in journals and anthologies including Popular Music, Postmodern Culture, and The Velvet Underground Companion. He was the first biographer of Albert Ayler and a consultant for Revenant Records' Grammy-nominated Holy Ghost box set. An adaptation of his dissertation on the politics of free jazz is under consideration at a major university press. Dr. Schwartz is currently a reference librarian at the Santa Monica Public Library and chair of the American Library Association's Outstanding Reference Sources Committee. His personal website is http://www.geocities.com/jeff_l_schwartz

	John Graves	Composer and bassist John Graves enjoys performing and composing in a variety of genres, including jazz, classical and world music. He studied double bass with Nico Abondolo first at the Colburn School in Los Angeles and then at the University of California at Santa Barbara, where John earned a Bachelor of Music degree. John has performed with the UCSB Middle Eastern and Indian ensembles, as well as the Palisades Symphony and various jazz, rock, pop, hip-hop, gospel and reggae projects. His film music can be heard on mp3.com.

	Joseph Chamaa	Joseph Chamaa was born in Egypt. He joined the Egyptian Broadcasting orchestra in 1958 as a first violinist. In 1960 he went to Lebanon and joined the Feyrouz orchestra and toured with the group around the world performing in the shows of the Rahbani brothers. He also joined the Lebanese Conservatory of Music in 1961 and worked as a violin teacher until 1984. In 1971 he joined the Kaslik University and went to the Vatican with the Kaslik choir to perform Syriac music in the presence of the Pope, accompanied on the lute by he virtuoso Marcel Khalife. In 1984 he immigrated to the USA and joined the New Valley Symphony Orchestra as a first violinist, where he still performs. In 1990 he gave lectures and performances in American colleges to demonstrate Arabic music. Recently he joined Mesto where he is sharing the fruits of his musical experience.




	Lisa Belding	Principal cellist. received her Bachelor of Music in Cello performance from CSUN in addition to having studied chamber music with members of the Philadelphia String Quartet. She studied cello with Eileen Strang and Victor Sazer and attended the USC Idyllwild School of Music and the Arts. Lisa has won various competitions including AFM Local 47's Congress of Strings. She performs with the San Bernardino Orchestra, the Burbank Chamber Orchestra, the West LA Symphony and the Redlands Bowl Summer Festival Orchestra. She freelances and teaches cello and piano.

	T. J. Troy	T.J. Troy combines an eclectic knowledge of percussion from around the world with his innate musicality to create a distinct and powerful voice in the world of contemporary percussion. Be it as a member of many high caliber ensembles, a soloist or with the numerous artists he collaborates with, T.J. is quickly becoming a true phenomenon in the Los Angeles music community. Known for his high-energy performance and broad range of disciplines, T.J. performs in a number of ensembles, including MESTO, the Elvis Schoenberg Orchestra Surreal, Tabla Rasa, Freshly Squeezed, and Just Strings, an ensemble specializing in the music of Harry Partch. He has taught classes and workshops at the California Institute of the Arts, La Sierra University, the Oakwood School, and currently serves on the faculty of Bethesda Christian University, a position he has held since 2004. T.J. is an active performer and composer for television and film, and his compositions have been performed by the University of Michigan Creative Arts Orchestra, the CalArts Percussion Ensemble, Condensation, OK Composer, and Freshly Squeezed. T.J. received his Bachelor of Music degree in Percussion Performance from the University of Michigan, and his Master of Fine Arts degree, specializing in Percussion, from the California Institute of the Arts. His principle instructors have been Michael Udow, Julie Spencer, David Johnson, John Bergamo, Randy Gloss, and he continues his study of North Indian tabla with Pandit Swapan Chaudhuri. Currently stationed in Los Angeles, T.J. has performed extensively throughout the United States, and maintains a rigorous performance schedule throughout the year.


	Fahd Shaaban	Fahd Shaaban, a Lebanese-American, was born in Kuwait and spent his youth there. He came with his family to the U.S. where he received his high school as well as higher education. Fahd graduated from UCLA with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. There he joined the UCLA Middle East Ensemble under Dr. Jihad Racy, where he learned the basics of different musical systems such as Arabic and Turkish. Later, Fahd Shaaban--together with young enthusiast musicians--established the Kan Zaman Community Ensemble that specializes in presenting the classical music of the Arab world, where he performed on the Accordion and the violin. Fahd masters different Middle Eastern and Western instruments such as the 'ud, qanun, nay, and Buzuq. Fahd joined MESTO filling the 'ud chair. His technical mastery enables him to perform different genres from music cultures included in Mesto's repertoire such as Arabic, Turkish, Greek, Romanian and Bulgarian etc. With his computer skills Fahd Shaaban kindly maintains the web site of MESTO.

	Paula Kuhr	Paula Kuhr began her violin studies at age six with the Suzuki program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Over the years she has studied with Idell Low, Teresa DiTullio, and Manuel Compinsky. Ms. Kuhr obtained her Bachelor of Music and Masters of Music degrees at California State University. Northridge, under the tutelage of Michael Ferril. She has had extensive experience as an orchestral violinist, performing with such orchestras as the American Youth Symphony, San Fernando Valley Symphony, LA Opera Guild, MESTO, Topanga Symphony, and the Korean Philharmonic. Currently, Ms. Kuhr is a free-lance violinist who teaches privately, conducts the Buenaventura Chamber Ensemble, and performs chamber music for special occasions. Paula Kuhr received the Manuel Compinksy award in 1994 and a Graduate Scholarship in 1997. Ms. Kuhr is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota, a philanthropic music fraternity for women.

	George A. Kuhr (III)	George, a violinist, graduated from the California State University, Northridge music program with a B.A. in 1994, doubled with film. He has freelanced all over Los Angeles and has had the fortune to tour with both the American Youth Symphony in 1993 through Italy, and a 1990 Northern California tour with the CSUN Orchestra. In 1998, George Kuhr completed his MFA in Cinema-Production at USC. Currently, George is pursuing versatility in the arts. He is an enthusiastic supporter and participant of MESTO that performs music from around the world.

	Laura Halladay	Laura Halladay has shown herself to be a flutist with a deep and varied talent. After completing her bachelor's degree and further studies with Roger Stevens, Jimmy Walker and Janet Ferguson, she started a successful freelance career in Los Angeles. She has been in demand in the studios and has been heard performing as, principal flutist with the Korean Symphony at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, as featured soloist with West Valley Chamber Orchestra, and with California Jr. Symphony at the Ambassador Auditorium. She has been a featured soloist with the Chamber Music Society of California, the American Guitar Society International, and has performed at many private functions, including events for Zubin Mehta, Goldie Hawn and Dustin Hoffman. She has received a gold record for her flute playing on the Linda Ronstadt album "Canciones de Mi Padre" and has recorded for harpist Stephanie Bennett on several of her solo albums. She is the flutist for Angels of Venice and can be heard on several of their CD's, most prominently their latest release "Angels of Venice" on Windham Hill records. She has been in demand in the L.A. studios for jingles and commercial recordings as both a Flute and Recorder specialist. She was the recorder soloist on Amazon.com's biggest selling video, "George Lucas in Love" during the summer of 2000. Her great love of Jazz and ethnic music constantly leads her into new directions which combine elements of dance, new age and world music.