Mark Adamy (Piano, Theory, Composition, Keyboards) www.markadamy.com

Mark Adamy is originally from New England. He is an experienced performing artist (keyboardist/ vocalist), producer, composer and conductor/director.

Mark has studied music since his early childhood and has been performing professionally from the age of 12. The combination of a soulful musical presence, scintillating technique and skillful arrangements has thrilled audiences. A resident of Boston for several years, Mark was a popular artist there and won honors that include Entertainer of the Year and Boston Music awards nominations. He now resides in the New York City area.

Concerts and tour credits span a wide range of styles and include performances with Chaka Khan, James Brown, The Four Tops, John-Lee Hooker, Pieces of a Dream, Lisa Fisher, John Secada, Howard Hewitt, Phil Driscoll, Phil Keaggy, Warren Hill, Roger Humphries and many others. Mark has also played keyboards for Broadway productions and has been the musical director for off-Broadway productions in NYC.

Mark has a long list of CD/album credits, as well, that are comprised of a wide range of genres. The eagerly anticipated new Mark Adamy CD is soon to be nationally released and is presently in negotiations. His first solo recording project, Almost There received national airplay. The Real Silk Band received an award as “Best new jazz group” from Pittsburgh Magazine – Mark produced the CD in addition to performing on it and being one of its primary composers.

Mark is playing keyboards on the new Darren Lyons Group CD, produced by David Sancious, which is also slated for release sometime in 2005.

David Budway (Piano, Classical, Jazz, Composition, Theory) www.davidbudway.com

David Budway is one of the most distinctive pianists on today's international jazz scene. While deeply rooted in classical music and rock and roll music, his masterful command for the modern jazz vocabulary has propelled him into the midst of present-day jazz pioneers. He is quickly becoming a highly sought-after accompanist, arranger, film composer, and songwriter.  As a child his Pittsburgh home was filled with the sounds of the Beatles, Mozart and Bach, as well as classical Arabic music coming from his father's violin. These early influences led him to begin classical piano study at age five and to eventually earn a Masters Degree in Classical Piano at Duquesne University, where he later taught Jazz and Classical piano for 15 years.  It was during this time in Pittsburgh that he recorded his first jazz album in 1989 with sister Maureen entitled "Jazz, the Budway".

David caught the attention of Prince's sax-man Eric Leeds and, in 1990, was invited to Paisley Park Recording Studios to record "Things Left Unsaid" on Warner Brothers Records. During this same year, David was featured as the Jazz Piano soloist in the independent film "Giant Steps" starring Billy Dee Williams.

In 1992, David not only made his classical piano debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, but he performed his first classical recital with world renowned flutist Hubert Laws. Since their first meeting, David has frequented many recordings of Mr. Laws including "Storm Then the Calm" (Music Masters), "Hubert Laws Plays French Classics in Memory of Jean Pierre Rampal" (Spirit Productions/Scepterstein Records) and most recently "Moondance" on Savoy Jazz, in which Hubert records three of David's original compositions.

In the mid-90's, David released two solo piano albums: "Brief Encounter to Last a Lifetime", and "The Music I Hear", for Alanna Records. While living in Pittsburgh, David performed many solo classical faculty piano recitals, performed in Master Classes for James Tocco, Ruth Slenczynska, Eugene List and Artur Balsam, and performed locally with a number of Jazz Legends such as Clark Terry, Joe Pass, Jon Faddis, Louie Bellson, Dave Liebman, George Benson, Mark Murphy, Jimmy Heath, and Dizzy Gillespie.

David relocated to New York City in 1997 and immediately became a much sought after player in many genres. In addition to accompanying Broadway diva Christiane Noll, David became Stanley Turrentine's pianist, and the pianist for both the Jeff 'Tain' Watts and Regina Carter Quintets. David can be heard on "Bar Talk" by Jeff 'Tain' Watts on Sony/Columbia. This album also features a Budway composition entitled "Kiss".

In 2001, David was the proud recipient of two prizes in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition. His latest recording features original tunes written in the same spirit. Find out more here.

David Moore (Cello)

David Moore studied the cello with Leonard Rose as a scholarship student at the Juilliard School, where he graduated with an MS. He studied for a Ph.D in musicology at the graduate school at NYU, finishing all but the dissertation. He also plays the viola da gamba, which he studied with John Hsu. He has given two cello recitals at Weill Recital Hall, and played for four years with the Kohon String Quartet, with whom he recorded the Schoenberg quartets and the album The Early String Quartet in America for Vox records. He appears as soloist on recordings, mostly of contemporary music, for Orion, CRI, and Opus One records.

He has taught cello and classes on various subjects at York College of CUNY, at Mercy College, and at William Paterson University. He has taught cello and related classes at the Brooklyn-Queens Conservatory, at the Green Meadow Waldorf School in Chestnut Ridge, NY, and presently at the Tappan Art & Music Conservatory.

Mr. Moore has been principal cellist in the Queens Symphony for about 30 years, was principal cellist of the Wayne Chamber Symphony for 10 years and presently plays principal in the North Jersey Philharmonic and the Gateway Opera Company. He has played in many Broadway shows, most recently in the Broadway production of Les Miserables. He is also a writer of record reviews for the American Record Guide since 1969 and contributed articles on more than 60 composers to the 2002 book of comparative record reviews, Classical Music.

Wendy Thompson (Voice, Guitar, Songwriting)

Wendy Thompson is a singer, songwriter, arranger, producer and award winning recording artist as well as a teacher and workshop leader.
Once too shy to even speak her dream of singing out loud, Wendy went on to record 3 studio albums and is currently working on her fourth. She has had videos on VH1 and been the musical guest star on The David Letterman Show , Joan Lunden Show and Nile Rogers Inner Visions on VH1. One of her songs was featured on VH1's Earth Day Special for half a decade. She has received extensive radio airplay and is a New York Music Awards winner and seven fold nominee, including nominations in the best female vocalist and best songwriting categories. She has been produced by and/or worked as co-producer with some of the best producers in the business, including Grammy winning producers. Her songs have been heard in film and on national TV.

That being said, Wendy remembers well the feeling of having an unspoken, unrealized dream of singing, songwriting, performing and recording. She warmly welcomes students at all levels of development. Wendy has a degree in the Performing Arts and two decades of private voice study in Manhattan and Los Angeles, as well as countless hours of songwriting workshops, collaboration, recording and production on both coasts.

Wendy specializes in contemporary music and teaches voice, songwriting, performance and production.

Mike Wilkens (Woodwinds)