Ian Giles is an ambitious young performer and composer striving to honor the great sounds of the past with modern sensibility. The music he creates has a diverse, expansive sound, crafted from a wide range of appreciation that includes jazz, funk, rock, soul, among others. Able to create captivating works for any ensemble from solo piano to orchestra, Ian shows that his ability as a performer and composer has no boundaries.
Trained in classical piano for more than 10 years, and raised around a wide range of music from the Beatles to Charles Mingus, Ian has developed his own unique style that incorporates any number of influences from these important factors in his musical upbringing. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Composition from Berklee College of Music, he possesses an expansive base of knowledge of harmony, rhythm, and melody that informs him both as a player and composer. Based out of the Berkshires, he regularly performs in a range of ensembles and also as a solo player, in New England and internationally.
Yair Amster is an Israeli contemporary, world music and Jazz drummer and composer. He started playing the drums at the age of 11 under the guidance of Michal Rahat and in different ensembles in the Ra’anana Municipal Music Center. In 2008 he participated in the “Berklee-Rimon Jazz Workshop” at the “Red Sea Jazz Festival” where he received a full scholarship to the Berklee Five Week Performance Program course.
In 2009, after graduating with honors from the Metro-West High School music program, including a 5 point class in composition, he participated in the Berklee course, played in the official Big Band and won a scholarship. In addition, he studied drums with Skip Hadden, Casey Schuerell & Bob Moses. During the years of 2009-2011 Yair served in the IDF as an Outstanding Musician, playing in a military band. While in service, Yair played with RIAS Youth Orchestra Berlin on a tour around Germany and in the Berlin Concerthouse playing Stravinsky’s “Firebird” and other works. In 2011 he played the Shostakovich Symphony No. 7 with the same orchestra at the Berliner Philharmoniker concert hall.
Yair has performed in a variety of concerts, projects and festivals including the Umbria Jazz Festival, the Israeli Steely Dan Tribute Band, the Rostov on Don Jazz Festival, the Safed Klezmer Festival and the Tel Aviv Jazz Orchestra, to name a few. During his studies at the Center for Jazz Studies of the Tel Aviv Conservatory & The New School University, he performed in workshops with visiting jazz giants such as Mulgrew Miller, Sam Yahel, and Mark Turner. He has had the privilege of being musically and spiritually educated by great teachers, instructors and mentors, including Michal Rahat, Roni Zadik, Shay Zelman, Gilad Ronen, Harel Shachal, Yair Laron, Avital Geffen, Michael Shenhav, Karen Phenpimon-Zehavi, Ziv Ravitz, Yaaki Levy, Anat Fort, Omri Mor, Niv Dor Cohen, Bob Moses, Yuval Cohen, Erez Bar Noy, Doron Tirosh, and Mark Moshayev.