Embajadores – Fundación Armonía Colectiva

María Amalia Quesada

Costa Rican cultural manager, singer, entrepreneur, and educator based in Boston.

Maria Amalia is founder of Fundación Armonía Colectiva and Executive Director of FIJAZZ Costa Rica. She has also worked and collaborated in different cultural projects such as the Panama Jazz Festival, the Dominican Republic Jazz Festival among other cultural and social initiatives at national and international level.

As a singer and composer she is co-founder of Bosquejo en Riesgo with which she has participated in different international festivals. Maria Amalia has also collaborated and sung with artists such as Danilo Perez, Jason Yeager, Lihi Haruvi, Humberto Vargas, among others.

https://www.instagram.com/_maria.amalia_/

Julián Picado

Costa Rican artist and audio engineer based in New York. As an audio engineer he has worked for Grammy award-winning artists such as saxophonist Johnny Butler and drummer Steve Jordan. He has also played on multiple stages in New York, Boston, and several festivals in Costa Rica and has shared the stage with English bassist Janek Gwizdala and American guitarist Mark Lettieri.

He has recently participated as a producer in the progressive pop band LIFE INC and as a mastering engineer and artist for the Queens based electronic label Acacia Baileyana. Furthermore, he holds a bachelor's degree in music performance and production from Berklee College of Music and a master's degree in Music Technology with an emphasis in composition, production, and mixing for 3D Audio from the New York University.

https://julianpicado.com/

José Soto

Artist, educator and cultural promoter, co-founder of Fundación Armonía Colectiva and FIJAZZ Costa Rica. His music studies took him to the National University of Costa Rica, the New England Conservatory and the Berklee College of Music, completing a master´s program with the Global Jazz Institute.

He helped found the Danilo Perez Foundation's Children's Program in Panama, where he taught for two years. As a performer and pianist, Soto explores a variety of sounds and aims to promote new musical experiences for audiences, which have led him to play in many national and international jazz festivals in Latin America, the United States and Europe. He has collaborated with artists such as Luciana Souza, Eddie Daniels, Cheo Feliciano, Etienne Charles, among others.

https://josesotomusic.com/

Gustavo D'Amico

Brazilian saxophonist, composer, and educator born in São Paulo, currently based in Brooklyn, New York. Co-founder of the groups Alfaia, a quintet focused on the musical intersection between Brazilian and Middle Eastern music, Peixe Seco, a quartet working with contemporary and Brazilian folk music, and Solos de Ave, a trio exploring Brazilian music and free improvisation.

He has performed and recorded with artists such as Egberto Gismonti, Alcione, Elza Soares, Nailor Azevedo "Proveta", Danilo Perez, Jason Moran, John Patitucci and Terri Lyne Carrington. He also holds a bachelor's degree in music from Berklee College of Music, Global Jazz Institute and a master's degree from the New England Conservatory.

https://www.gustavodamico.com/

Jacob Means

Performer and educator Jacob Means, enjoys experimenting with new sounds while maintaining a fundamental relationship with the traditional forms of African American traditional music. Jacob's music reflects a sense of space inspired by the great Rocky Mountains and clear skies of Wyoming, where he grew up.

He began his musical journey playing mandolin, which has taken him all over the world. From playing and teaching in the United States, Central America, Europe and China, his versatility as a musician has allowed him to create meaningful connections in diverse and varied settings. These experiences have solidified his vision of music as an inclusive tool for positive social change.

https://www.jacobmeansmusic.com/

Connor Kent

Drummer Connor Kent's “compelling rhythm” (Downbeat Magazine) has taken him all over the world, playing and teaching in the United States, Canada, Central America, Europe, and Asia.

Kent holds a master's degree in contemporary performance from Berklee College of Music - Global Jazz Institute and a Bachelor's degree in Jazz Studies from the University of North Texas, where he was a member of the 7th time Grammy nominated "One O'Clock Lab Band". In addition, he co-leads "Paragon", a modern jazz trio that released their debut album "Kin" with the Outside in Music label. You can also hear him with artists such as Grace Kelly, Aga Derlak, Alex Hahn, Jason Yeager, Adam Larson, Tahira Clayton, Horace Bray and For Now.

https://www.instagram.com/connorkent/

Aga Derlak

Pianist, composer, and educator. She is a graduate of Berklee College of Music and Karol Szymanowski Music Academy in Katowice, Poland. She trained her talent under the guidance of Danilo Perez.

Aga performs all over the world, conducts workshops, teaches at the Danilo Perez Foundation in Panama City. She has performed in the United States, Mexico, Panama, Poland, Germany, United Kingdom, Greece, Spain, Italy, Moldova, Serbia, Turkey, Slovakia, Czech Republic. Also, she has cooperated with musicians such as Andree Hayward, Claudio Ragazzi, Luciana Souza, Patricia Zarate, Omar Diaz, PJ Anderson, Carlos Agrazal, Zbigniew Namysłowski, Jerzy Małek, Grzech Piotrowski, Andrzej Więs and Sabina Meck.

https://www.agaderlaktrio.com/

Jacob Jezioro

Bassist, composer, and educator specialized in improvised music as well as Western classical forms. At Indiana University, he studied double bass with Kurt Muroki and jazz with Professor Jeremy Allen. During this time, he had notable experiences including performances with Walter Smith III, Becca Stevens, Kurt Rosenwinkel, and participated with the Orchestra at the JSOM Opera Theater.

https://www.instagram.com/jeziroh/

Sofía Kriger

Brazilian vocalist, currently residing in Brooklyn, NY. She graduated from the New England Conservatory with a BA in Jazz Performance, where she had the opportunity to study and collaborate with some of the best musicians and educators of the country, including Jeanie LoVetri, Dominique Eade, Jerry Bergonzi, Ran Blake, Joe Morris, John McNeil and Frank Carlberg.

Sofia is the co-founder of Solos de Ave, whose goal is to disseminate the music of Brazil through the exploration, deconstruction, and rearrangement of the music of renowned Brazilian composers through free improvisation and the language of jazz.

https://www.instagram.com/sofiakriger/

Luke Norris

Saxophonist, composer, and educator. Born and raised in Bethpage, New York, Luke graduated from the Eastman School of Music with a BA in Saxophone-Jazz with high distinction, studying with Charles Pillow and Bill Dobbins. In 2016, Luke won second place in the Keilwerth Saxophone Idol Competition and third prize in the North American Saxophone Alliance Jazz Saxophone Competition.

He completed his master's degree at the Berklee Global Jazz Institute. During this time, Luke played with Danilo Perez and Luciana Souza. His debut album Northernsong was released in January 2020 on the Ears & Eyes Records label, which features original compositions for quartets.

https://www.lukenorrismusic.com/

Lihi Haruvi-Means

Saxophonist, composer and educator, native of Israel. She has performed at the Newport Jazz Festival, Dominican Republic Jazz Festival, Cork Guinness Jazz Festival, Panama Jazz Festival, and the Red Sea Jazz Festival, to name a few, including performances with jazz masters Danilo Perez, Dave Liebman, George Garzone, Max Weinberg, and Israeli multi-platinum artist David Broza.

She currently teaches at Berklee College of Music and New England Conservatory Preparatory School. Her education spans from Thelma Yellin High School of the Arts, service in the IDF Orchestra, a Bachelor of Arts from Berklee College of Music, Global Jazz Institute and a Masters of Music from the New England Conservatory.

https://www.lihimusic.com/

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