Rakel Saranga is a versatile vocalist, songwriter, arranger, producer and a composer. She studied Contemporary Writing and Production as well as Vocal Performance at Berklee College of music. She has performed her own arrangements and original compositions all around the world like at the renowned Splice festival, Berklee International Folk Festival, and the Summer Arts Festival. Her music draws inspiration from jazz, folk, experimental soundscapes, and middle eastern music, pushing the boundaries of traditional song form to create a unique and personal sound. You can find her in all streaming platforms under the name “Rakel” and at bandcamp with her band “From". For this special concert Rakel is bringing together folk music from Türkiye and Sephardic tradition, combining it with her original compositions, she is creating a set of authentic music that bridges the worlds of jazz, folk and songwriting.

Giorgio Matteo “Aki” Oliviero is a guitarist from Milan, Italy active as a working musician in the city of Boston, and as a composer for the Italian film industry. He graduated from Berklee college of music with a degree in composition.

Estéfano Larko is an Ecuadorian composer and performer who fuses the music of the Andes, Türkiye and many other spots from around the world.

Chase Behar is a Canadian-American bassist focused primarily on the Jazz idiom. After nearly ten years of playing the electric bass, Chase decided to pick up the double bass in his second year at Berklee College of Music in 2023, and quickly rose to a professional level within the Boston music scene on his new instrument. Chase’s philosophy since coming to Berklee has been to not be intimidated by the level of others or become daunted by the system around him, but instead to realize his own pace of growth and find his own path. He is currently finishing his final year at Berklee, with the goal of moving to New York shortly afterward to pursue his career path as a Jazz artist.

Maya Kaya is an oboist and producer from Istanbul with a background in performance, improvisation, and production. As a producer, she makes electronic music that derives from pop music, while incorporating her passion for the avant-garde. She’s currently pursuing a degree in Electronic Production and Sound Design, and Oboe Performance at Berklee College of Music.