Jack Aaronson

Jack Aaronson is the CEO of The Aaronson Group. The Aaronson Group focuses on customer retention and loyalty for both single and multi-channel companies. As a corporate lecturer, Jack travels around teaching best practices in personalization, loyalty programs and multi-channel marketing. Jack writes the ROI Marketing column for ClickZ.com, as well as his own newsletter. He has appeared as a subject-matter expert on CBS Sunday Morning News (for a segment on loyalty programs), and has been interviewed by every major trade publication as well as the New York Times and Chicago Tribune.

Mr. Aaronson graduated from Amherst College cum laude, with a dual major of Computer Science and Musical Theater. He was awarded the Howard Hughes Science Fellowship as well as the Sundquist Prize for musical composition, and satisfied his thesis in Musical Theater by writing an original opera based on the life of Edgar Allan Poe.

Jon Anderson

As singer for the legendary super-group Yes, Jon Anderson has managed to stay ahead of the music-and-technology curve for over three decades.

During the 1970's, Yes pioneered the use of synthesizers and sound effects in modern music. Driven by Jon's artistic vision, they produced such timeless, symphonic-rock masterworks as "Roundabout", "Close To the Edge" and "Awaken". In the 1980's Yes pushed new sampling technologies to their limits, selling millions of records and influencing a generation of digital musicians with classics like "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" and "Rhythm Of Love". Moving through the 1990's and into the new millennium, the band keeps expanding their boundaries by using the latest hard-disk recording techniques and, most recently, working with a full orchestra to create their genre-defying music.

Jon Anderson is equally prolific outside Yes. He has released over twenty solo and collaboration albums, working with musicians from around the world for a sound that is always fresh, positive, and culturally diverse. In the 1980's Jon teamed with Vangelis and scored two Top Ten hits in the U.K. with "I Hear You Now" and "I'll Find My Way Home". As a solo artist, he maintains his fascination with cutting-edge technologies—Jon recently managed to record an entire CD on his laptop computer while vacationing in Hawaii!

An artist of seemingly endless energy, Jon often ventures beyond rock music to express himself. His many projects include storytelling, multimedia, and composing for dance theatre. Jon is also an accomplished painter and frequently sells his art to support his own charitable Opio Foundation for UNICEF.

Jon Anderson can be heard on the latest Yes release, "Magnification".

Kurt Bestor

Best known for his innovative interpretation of seasonal carols on Kurt Bestor Christmas, Volumes One and Two, the Utah based composer and performer launched his career writing music for television and movies. His credits include more than 30 film scores and more than 40 themes for national TV programs and commercials. Bestor's music has introduced Good Morning Americana, NFL Monday Night Football, and ABC's Sunday Night Movie; he scored TBS's Wild! Life Adventures and the IMAX film "Great American West." He also was given the Outstanding Film Score Award at the New York Film and Television Festival for his music for PBS's "A More Perfect Union." Bestor was awarded an Emmy® for his collaboration with Sam Cardon on the original music for ABC's coverage of the 1988 Winter Olympics.

While enrolled in college, Bestor began writing music for student films, gradually moving onto documentaries and eventually into the feature film score arena. In 1987, he was one of only six recipients of a fellowship at the Sundance Film Institutes Film Composer Lab. There, he studied with master film composers Dave Grusin, Alan Slivestri and David Raksin.

In the spring of 2000, Bestor's was showcased in the PBS concert filming of his "Innovators" album, with Sam Cardon. The nationwide special was so successful that a follow-up "Innovators II: Keepers of the Flame" was produced for release in conjunction with the 2002 Olympic celebrations. In August 2001, Bestor's composing and conducting talents were highlighted when his powerful "Saints on the Seas" oratorio was performed in major European cities against the backdrop of some of the worlds most beautiful concert halls.

Mike Garson

Mike Garson is a professional pianist, most notable for his work with Nine Inch Nails, David Bowie, Billy Corgan and The Smashing Pumpkins. Mike was originally noticed when he played on the I'm the One album by early 70s experimental artist Annette Peacock. When Peacock was asked by a very interested David Bowie to join him on his tour she refused. Garson however did not and so began one of the most enduring relationships in rock history. Garson gave the piano and keyboard backing on the later Ziggy Stardust tour and his unique contribution to Aladdin Sane gave the album an avant garde jazz feel with long and sometimes atonal piano solos. He played also for Mick Ronson (guitarist and sound of the "Spiders from Mars") on his first and last solo tour, and his first album (Slaughter on Tenth Avenue). He continued to play with Bowie on and off over the years, resurfacing on the The Buddha of Suburbia album and inspiring Bowie to experiment again. The ambitious Outside album was the result.

Parallel to this Mike engaged in his own solo career as a jazz pianist, pushing the bounds of his art. He is regarded in the industry as one of the very few 'rock' pianists capable of performing extended piano solos. He remains one of the most highly sought-after session musicians with a unique sound of his own which others wish to utilise for their own projects.

Mark George

Mark George, pianist, is a member of the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he teaches music theory and serves as Director of Distance Learning Content Development and Manager of Community Education Programs. He also serves as instructor of music literature at Case Western Reserve University. In addition to his classroom teaching, he played a key role in the implementation of an innovative outreach program called ICARE (Initiative for Cultural Arts in Education) that has had a profound impact on public schools in Cleveland, Ohio. He received a doctor of musical arts degree from the Cleveland Institute of Music in 1989.

A highly regarded pianist both as soloist and in chamber music, he was a finalist at the Simone Belsky Piano Competition. His chamber ensemble, North Coast Trio, was grand-prize winner of the 1992 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and first prize co-winner of the 1993 Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition. He has appeared frequently as a recitalist and soloist with the Cleveland Chamber Symphony where he serves as the principal keyboard artist. He also performs in this capacity with the Trinity Chamber Orchestra, Epicycle: An Ensemble for New Music, and the Heights Chamber Orchestra.

Bruce Donnelly

Bruce Donnelly is a Composer/Arranger/Orchestrator in Southern California. Recent projects include work for films "The Contender", "Call Me Claus" and "Out of the Black", the HBO series "Mind of the Married Man", recording artists Innis, Chris Duran, Thelma Houston, and the Yes Symphonic Tour and upcoming album "Magification".

Other compositions and arrangements include numerous contributions to the NBC, CBS, and Network Music libraries, the PBS specials "The Memory Of All That . . . Gershwin on Ice Starring Dorothy Hamill," "Gung Ho", and many shows for Disney, including ABC's "Disney Easter Parade", and "Doug Live" for Disney World.

A graduate of the University of Southern California, Mr. Donnelly also has composed a number of serious works, and performs occasionally as a pianist with the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Chamber Orchestra.

Charles Koppelman

Photo and Biography coming soon.

Christopher Montgomery

Chris Montgomery is currently CEO of the Seamont Group, a consulting firm specializing in navigating change within the entertainment industry.  His client portfolio includes Target Corporation where he oversees all digital environment strategy.  He has been deeply entrenched in the music industry for over 25 years as an educator, performer, producer and business executive.

Chris has enjoyed an interesting and vast career that includes music education with the Toronto Board of Education, marketing at BMG Entertainment and cutting edge disruptive technologies such as mp3.

While at BMG, he was responsible for producing dozens of collections for RCA Records and for marketing such diverse artists as Ben Heppner, Yanni, and The Chieftains.  He departed BMG to pursue his MBA and publish his dissertation, “Electronic Distribution and Strategic Change in the Music Industry” in 1998.  Following that, he joined Diamond Multimedia and was involved in the launch of first mp3 player, the Rio PMP300 and was a founder of RioPort.com, a wholly owned subsidiary of Diamond.  He then joined MP3.com prior to their historic IPO and was involved in numerous activities, most notably being the designer behind the world’s first on-demand music subscription service on the Internet.  This ‘all you can eat’ classical music channel was one of the key drivers that influenced the Vivendi Universal purchase of MP3.com for nearly $400 million.  This is currently the foundation for the Napster music subscription service. Following the acquisition by Vivendi, Chris moved to Paris to continue his drive to change the way music was marketed and distributed.  While in Europe, he became CEO of MP3.com Europe.  He has also served as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer at Vivendi Universal Net.

Chris is also an accomplished musician, composer and educator with degrees in music and education from the University of Western Ontario and University of Toronto in classical guitar and clarinet. He has performed at many of the world’s premier jazz festivals including Festival International de Jazz de Montreal. He received his MBA from the University of Edinburgh where he is currently a visiting Professor at the School of Economics and Management.

Dave Olsen

For over a quarter of a century, Dave Olsen has held a variety of positions in the music print industry ranging from roles in sales to creative positions. He was appointed interim CEO of Warner Bros. Publications 8 months prior to the acquisition of Warner by Alfred Publishing in June 2005. During his tenure at Warner, he worked directly with musical greats such as Dave Brubeck, Henry Mancini, Marian McPartland, Cy Coleman and Charles Strouse, among others. He is a well know expert in music copyright, contract, licensing and royalty activities. worldwide. In August of 2006 he founded CMS Music Solutions, a consulting and licensing firm and also joined the teaching staff of Berklee College’s on-line music school, where he is the instructor for the course "Legal Aspects of the Music Industry."

Olsen is a Board of Directors member of the Music Publishers Association and a founding member of the original National Music Publishers’ Association’s Internet Anti-Piracy Taskforce. Among a host of his music-related activities, Olsen is regularly called upon to lecture on music property matters at music conventions and universities. Dave began performing at the age of 5 and studied piano and French Horn for many years. He studied music at North Texas State University and at the University of Miami (Florida).

John R. Papandria

Mr. Papandria has been a music educator for 13 years in Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana. During this time he has become known for the quality of his programs and performing groups at the Middle School, High School and University level. He has had much success on a competitive basis as well. Having been a part of programs that have been awarded State Championships. He has always strived to push the envelope on education by developing more effective and efficient rehearsal techniques, thus allowing his students to move forward and grow at a faster pace. One administrator remarked, "I am impressed! You have done a masterful job of teaching music." While another stated, "When John moves, the whole world moves." And yet another, "Wow! This is how music should be taught."

Currently, Mr. Papandria is involved in developing the educational large ensemble use for the MusicPad. John Papandria also worked in the Tour and Travel industry where he ascended to Manager of his Division within 2 years. John was named an Honorary Member of Kappa Kappa Psi and is a Member of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia. He also spends time judging, consulting and guest conducting. John has received the Ashland Oil Golden Apple Achiever Award, Indianapolis Indians Educator Award and has been named students most influential teacher numerous times. Also, while living and teaching in Kentucky, Mr. Papandria was commissioned a Kentucky Colonel, the highest honor given to a citizen in the state of Kentucky.

Jordan Rudess

Jordan Rudess is a Juilliard-trained keyboardist most famously known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. After performing in various projects during the 1980s, he gained national attention in 1994 when he was voted "Best New Talent" in the Keyboard Magazine readers' poll after the release of his Listen solo album. Jordan the Dregs forming a so-called "power duo" with drummer Rod Morgenstein. The genesis of this pairing occurred when a power outage caused all of the Dregs' instruments to fail except Jordan's, so he and Rod improvised with each other until power was restored and the concert could continue. The chemistry between the two was so strong during this jam that they decided to perform together on a regular basis (under the name Rudess/Morgenstein Project or later RPM) and have since released a studio and a live record.

Jordan has been the full-time keyboardist in Dream Theater since the recording of 1999's Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory. He has recorded 3 other studio albums since then; 2002's Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence, 2003's Train of Thought, and 2005's Octavarium. In addition, he has appeared on the live albums Live Scenes From New York and Live at Budokan.

Freddy Salem

BIO coming soon .

Dan Savant

Dan Savant started his music production company (Savant Productions) in 1978. He plays trumpet and drums and originally performed with his band for all types of parties and banquets as well as playing for film, TV, and record album recordings. Dan's band performed at large parties for ABC, Universal and Disney Studios as well as Charity functions for National Charity League, The City Of Hope and Children's Hospital. They also performed at weddings for celebrities such as Jane Seymour and Hugh Hefner.

Savant Productions Inc. moved into television and film recording and producing work in the 1980's. In 1997 Dan started Angel Song Inc. and worked with Angel Song as Music Director/Producer for the Paralympic Winter Games of 2002 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over the past 20 years Dan and his two companies have been involved in music recording and production for television shows, records, major motion pictures and almost every major theme park in the world.

Pete Sears

In Pete Sears thirty-four years as a musician, he has played Keyboards or Bass Guitar with a large variety of artists, including the classic Rod Stewart albums, "Gasoline Ally", Every Picture Tells a Story", "Never a Dull Moment" and "Smiler". Pete was with the Jefferson Starship from 1974 to 1987 and currently plays in the "Jorma Kaukonen Trio" with Jorma and Michael Falzarano, recently releasing the C.D, "Too Many Years". He also plays with Jorma and Michael along with Jack Casady and Harvey Sorgen in "Hot Tuna". Recently, he performed at the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame tribute to "John Lee Hooker" at Stanford University as one of John's guests. Footage was shot at the show to be included in a documentary film about John Lee's life. In 1999, Pete and Jorma Kaukonen performed with Phil Lesh in a "Phil and Friends" show with Steve Kimock at the Warfield Theater in San Francisco. A live C.D. of the show called, "And Love Will See You Through" is available on Grateful Dead Records.

Pete began his musical career in London in the mid-sixties. Born in Bromley, Kent, England. He grew up playing piano and listening, through his older brother John, to blues, Jazz and R&B artists like Champion Jack Dupree, Memphis Slim, Dave Brubeck, Oscar Peterson, Jimmy Reed, Big Bill Broonzy and Robert Johnson. At age thirteen, he started playing guitar and at sixteen began playing in clubs, recording at EMI studios on Abbey road, and touring Britain and Europe playing bass guitar with the "Sons of Fred." The Sons of Fred recorded four singles and performed on several popular television shows, including "Thank Your Lucky Stars" and "Ready Steady Goes Live". He later joined "Fleur de Lys" on piano and recorded several songs with them including the Gospel tune "Amen," with Jimi Hendrix sitting in on Guitar. After finishing with "Fleur de Lys," Pete teamed up with Mick Hutchinson and Sam Gopal in the underground band called "Sam Gopal's Dream." The band played classic 60's venues like "The Electric Garden" in Covent Garden, London, later to become "Middle Earth," "Alexander Palace," "The Roundhouse", "Happening 44" and the "Christmas on Earth Show" at Olympia in London on the same bill with Traffic, Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd. While playing with Sam and Mick at the Middle Earth Club in London, he became friends with Graham Bond. Graham, who taught Pete valuable information about playing the Hammond B3, later asked Mick and Pete to join his band. Jimi Hendrix sat in with Sam Gopals Dream at a London club called the Speakeasy. Pete later started touring and doing sessions for Folk and Blues artists such as Marion Segal, "Steamhammer," and the "Long John Baldry" blues band.