Ezequiel Barrera – Composer and Pianist – was born in Mexico City in 1981 to the Gimeno-Barrera guitar duo, who discovered his musical abilities and guided his musical training starting at age 5 (guitar) and age 7 (piano).  His main mentors were the eminent pianist José Antonio Morales (Mexico City) and the famous piano pedagogue Marietta Orlov (Toronto).  In September 2005, Barrea graduated from the Faculty of Music at the University of Toronto.  In that same year, he became interested in composition after an encounter with Canadian Composer Alexander Rapoport.  Among his most characteristic compositions are seven notebooks of a collection entitled Miniaturas, Sonata No. 1 “Mexicana”, 32 Variations on a theme by Paganini, and the Fantasía Mexicana for piano duet.  His Fantasía Irini was a finalist in the  Diabelli International Composition Competition 2014-2015 (Germany). He has performed extensively to critical acclaim in diverse venues around the world, including the USA, Canada, Mexico, Central America, Chile, and Germany.  He has also appeared as a soloist with diverse orchestras.

Currently, Mr. Barrera has five recordings which can be found on Spotify, Amazon, iTunes, and other sources. http://www.ezequielbarrera.com/

CARL BLAKE (piano) holds three degrees in piano performance: Bachelor of Music (magna cum laude) from Boston University, Master of Arts from San Jose State University, and Doctor of Musical Arts from Cornell University. Dr. Blake has performed three times in Weill Recital Hall (formerly Carnegie Recital Hall) and has toured for the United States Department of State in Russia, France, England, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands as Artistic Ambassador with cellist Kim Cook.  Currently, Dr. Blake serves as Director of Music of The Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco and teaches piano in his private studio in Oakland.  Mr. Blake is a member of the Board of Directors of Noontime Concerts San Francisco.