Ma Sheh'bah La

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Zach Rubin

Zachary Rubin is a sophomore majoring in biology at Case Western Reserve University. He has been playing trumpet for over ten years. He grew up in Naperville, Illinois, where he took lessons from Michael McManis and Thomas Tait. In high school, he played in Wind Symphony, Wind Ensemble for three years, Jazz Studio Orchestra for four years, Jazz Studio Orchestra Combo for three years. He also played for a klezmer group called The Arkestra of the Covenant. He was selected for the District IX IMEA Top Honors Jazz Band for three years as well as the Honors Concert Band for a year. While his goal is to become a doctor, playing trumpet has been a passion in his life that he wishes to continue with Ma Sheh'bah La.

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Per Aage Brandt

 
b. 1944 in Buenos Aires. Danish citizen. Professor of Modern Languages and Cognitive Science at CWRU, Cleveland. Plays the piano. Writes poetry, studies philosophy, linguistics, semiotics.

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Omri Shiv

 
Omri Shiv, a 4th year senior of Case Western studying Audio Engineering and Information Systems, has been playing drums since the 6th grade. Starting out as a classically trained pianist, he never learned to read music, but instead played everything by ear. His teachers never caught on, but he got bored. Frustrated, he spent a long time trying to convince his parents to let him switch. They, in turn, tried to convince him to stick with the piano. While he regrets not continuing the piano education, he is thrilled that he got the opportunity to play drums.

Omri had been wanting to switch instruments for quite some time. It was towards the end of the 5th grade that he finally had his chance to try his drumming abilities. Sitting on the throne, he felt empowered, he grabbed the sticks and wailed away. His middle school teacher had but one comment: "That was awful!" Admittedly, she said this to everyone who got on the drums; however, sitting on the throne, Omri experienced a feeling he had never experienced before. It was raw power and energy that entered through the back and emanated throughout the body. This was something worth pursuing.

For the next three years, Omri would learn to play on a music school set. He had no set of his own, but he practiced rudiments on a snare pad and would eventually graduate to a drum set made of rubber pads. A year later, he convinced his parents to buy a drum set, a Tama Rockstar fusion set with the midnight gray finish. To this very day, you can find him playing this set.

Omri began playing Jazz and Latin music. He joined a band in 10th grade that would ask him to play Nirvana influenced music. He began listening to some more rock music, but would take more to jazz on his own. That same year, he was introduced to Dream Theater and everything would change. "The Glass Prison changed my life," he says. "You listen to it, and it sounds like the intro plays for five minutes. Why is there a grandfather clock in the background? You listen and suddenly a whole new mood is conveyed and then, when you least expect it, BAM!!!! Mike Portony lays down the drums. He changed my life."

While dipping his toes in the waters of progressive rock, Omri continued to play Jazz throughout high school and through college. In his junior year of high school, he won an outstanding soloist award from the Berkley School of Music in Boston, being compared to a modern day Buddy Rich. Unfortunately, the jazz aspect of drumming has worn off on Omri. He continues to play Jazz in his spare time and for the band Ma Sheh'bah La while honing his real interest in the progressive realm.

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Liz Keller

Liz Keller is a senior vocal performance major at the Cleveland Institute of Music. She has spent the past two summers studying German Lieder with the University of Miami - Salzburg College Program in Salzburg, Austria, where she recently won 2nd place in their annual competition. Liz has performed with The Victorian Lyric Opera Company, The American University Opera Department, Capital City Opera and The Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. She has studied at The Crittenden Opera Studio, The Amalfi Coast Institute and Festival, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and has performed roles in two world premieres for the National Opera Association. At CIM, she has been involved in the operas as well as scenes programs. In her free time, Liz enjoys dancing, reading science books, and intellectually stimulating conversation.

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