Jacob Adler began with a single cell. This split to become two and the two became four and so on. After just 47 doublings, ten thousand trillion cells formed a body and he soon found himself writing this bio. Jacob studied music under Rabbis Wall and Martinez before becoming the Pangean Orchestra’s accordionist and Transylvanian tsimblist

Felix’s love of drums spans back 25 years and across continents. He is a self-taught musician who at the age of 7 discovered the hand percussion drums. He learned to play reggae, traditional Ghanaian and pop dance rhythms. Felix moved to Arizona when he was 11 and has since continued to develop his love of music by learning salsa, reggaton, jazz, pop, and hip-pop rhythms. Felix is the chief drummer for Arizona State University African Students Association, AFSA. Felix is the president of Raggadrum (www.raggadrum.com). When he is not playing music he works as a Project Engineer, attends classes at ASU for an MBA and also enjoys flying airplanes and playing sports.

Tom Connor, a Texas boy and a guitar player, married a girl from Ireland, 34 years ago. He’d always loved folk and traditional music and his wife quickly got him hooked on the wonderful music of her native land. He started out on the tin whistle, until finally realizing that the Uilleann pipes were calling him. He performs at weddings and funerals, as well as regularly appearing at Sunday Irish “seisiuns” and monthly Ceili dances at the Irish Cultural Center.

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Tamara Freida currently plays with the Arizona Opera and also as the Assistant Concertmaster with the Symphony of the Southwest and the West Valley Symphony. She has also been a substitute player with both the Phoenix Symphony and Tucson Symphony Orchestra. She has recently began playing Irish music with the band, Trotter’s Wake. Tamara also teaches private lessons to people of all ages and aims to help her students explore the dimensions which music can bring to life. In her free time Tamara loves to hike and backpack. She is passionate about the wilderness and aspires to play music to raise money for groups like the Arizona Wilderness Coalition, which preserve our precious undeveloped lands. She is confident that music is one of the best ways to raise awareness for world issues, be a catalyst for social change and as a green and healthy way to bring people together. She is very excited about the idea of the Pangean Orchestra to bring people of all musical backgrounds together in positive creativity.

Dr. Rose French is the director of the Mill Ave Chamber Players (www.millavechamberplayers.org), and serves as the Symposium Exhibitors Coordinator for the International Horn Society. Rose has performed in China, Croatia, Venezuela, South Africa, Mexico, and in the United States. She performs with groups in the Southwest including the Phoenix Symphony, Tucson Symphony, Arizona Opera, Metropolitan Opera, West Valley Symphony, the Salt River Brass Band, and Orquestra Sinfonica of Monterrey, Mexico. French completed her Doctorate of Musical Arts and Master of Music degrees at Arizona State University and holds degrees in Music Education, Music Technology, and Performance from Duquesne University, Pittsburgh, PA. She teaches at Glendale and Paradise Valley Community Colleges, maintains a private studio, and teaches at Rosie’s House: A Music Academy for Children, a music academy for under-served Phoenix youth.

Lai Ma Gates was born in Shenyang, China into a family of musicians. She started learning pipa with her father at age 5 and later, piano and composition. After graduating from the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing Lai Ma became the performer, pianist, arranger, and composer for The Premier Song and Dance Troupe of Beijing. In 1992 she won “Hei Long Bei” National Composition Competition in China. In 1996 she joined The Phoenix Chinese Art Ensemble as concertmaster and pipa soloist. Their group performed at the Phoenix Chinese Cultural Center during Chinese Week, New Year celebration and the Asian Festival. She also visited Valley schools to introduce Chinese culture, music history, and the Pipa as an instrument.

Adrian Goldenthal is a native of the Phoenix area and the son of one of the valley’s most prominent jazz pianists. He began playing bass seriously while attending Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ and, while not a music major, spent some of his time in the jazz department following the early inspirations of his father. His interests not limited to the jazz world, Adrian quickly found himself rehearsing and performing with musicians from myriad genres, expanding his repertoire to funk, rock, Latin, Brazilian, flamenco and beyond. He has performed and recordedwith ensembles such as the Hammertoes, Badshoe, Jeff Jones & Mosiac, Delphine Cortez, Chris Burton Jacome & Calo Flamenco. Adrian also served as producer and musical director for pop singer Jody Gnant.

Tanya Hedjazi is playing electric upright bass. She is a graduate of NAU with a degree in music and a focus in ethnomusicology. She teaches piano, bass and world music classes at Sonoran Studios and has 10 years of professional performance experience playing jazz, latin jazz, reggae, funk, rock and blues. Tanya is an American born Asian/Middle-eastern American. Her passion for music, travel and culture has brought her to join in the Pangean Orchestra.