STEPHEN KATZ has been a singular force in the creation of bold, new trends in solo music for the cello. Using an approach he calls counterpoint strumming, he has built a repertoire of powerfully rhythmic compositions that incorporate melody and accompaniment into unified, idiomatic cello solos.

As a performer who uses live looping electronics to generate full ensemble textures from a single instrument, he has also distinguished himself as a creator of seamlessly integrated solo pieces that unfold loop-by-loop in concert.

MIKE KAROUB, cellist of the Royal Garden Trio, has toured with Grammy nominated James Dapogny's Chicago jazz Band, Banu Gibson's New Orleans Hot Jazz, recording several albums, with appearances at the Smithsonian, the Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl and Garrison Keillor's "A Prarie Home Companion". He has also has been a guest with the St. Louis and Atlanta Symphonies.

On cello, Mike has performed with several Detroit area orchestras and appeared a soloist, playing jazz arrangements for cello and orchestra with the Livonia Symphony.

DEREK SNYDER has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in the United States and Europe, and has collaborated as a chamber musician with members of some of the country's most exciting ensembles, including the Cavani and Cleveland string quartets, the Cleveland Orchestra, and Detroit, Montreal and Baltimore Symphonies.

He has created numerous transcriptions and arrangements for cello ensembles, focusing primarily on the music of jazz great Dave Brubeck and nuevo tango master Astor Piazzolla. His arrangements of music by Brubeck (as preformed by the Yale Cellos) can be heard on the Naxos label.