Frank Hobbs - Vocals
Frank Hobbs is a Los Angeles–born singer and voice actor whose work spans bluegrass, jazz, rock, and choral music. He has performed with acclaimed ensembles including the L.A. Choral Lab, Tonality, and m-pact, and his voice can be heard in video games, animation, audiobooks, TV, and film. When he’s not in the studio, Frank enjoys hiking with his wife and two dogs—or digging through the bins at local record stores.
Manak Khamvongsa - Sitar
Manak Khamvongsa has been a music educator and performer for over 20 years. Originally form Thailand, he now resides in Santa Clarita where he is the music instructor and band director for Academy of the Canyons; He also conducts monthly sound baths at the yogayoga shala in Newhall CA; In addition to the sitar, Manak also plays the guitar and japanese shamisen.
Chris Votek - Cello
Chris Votek is an acclaimed cellist, composer, arranger, producer, and sound engineer living and breathing music in Los Angeles. He is a disciple of the legendary Indian violinist Dr. N Rajam, much of his work involves adapting the oral tradition of Hindustani raga to the cello and the cross-pollination of Western and Indian Classical Traditions. As an intercultural music translator he has arranged symphonic music with Neelamjit Dhillon for Ustad Zakir Hussain, notably his Triple Concerto for Tabla, Bansuri, and Sitar with orchestra premiered by the Symphony of India in 2023. Votek’s original chamber and electro-acoustic compositions have been presented at REDCAT, the Hammer Museum, Clockshop, and SF Soundbox. His string quintet Memories of a Shadow received critical acclaim “superbly blending raga melody with early European polyphony”. A sought after touring and studio cellist, Votek has performed or recorded with Sigur Ros, The Marias, The Silk Road Ensemble, Chris Martin, Father John Misty, WildUp, Julia Holter, and many others. Votek is an active member of many world music and cross cultural ensembles. He is the principal cellist of Nabil Azzam’s Arabic Orchestra MESTO, a member of LA’s chamber orchestra of cultural diversity Bridge to Everywhere, and a collaborator with Iranian singers Homayoun Shajarian and Mamak Khadem.
James Waterman - Percussion
James Waterman (he/him/his) is a multifaceted percussionist, composer, songwriter, and teaching artist based in Los Angeles. James is devoted to the exploration of all areas of percussion and has extensively studied Western Classical solo repertoire, orchestral percussion, Arabic drumming, Trinidadian Steel Drums, jazz vibraphone, Cuban and Haitian folkloric percussion, drum set, Indian tabla and tala systems, and Brazilian percussion. He also has traveled to Ghana where he studied gyil (Ghanaian xylophone) with master musician Bernard Woma, Ashanti Kete drumming, and Ewe drumming and dancing.
James has regularly collaborated with prominent ensembles and organizations including Bridge to Everywhere, four larks, and Dhara, and has performed and premiered new works at venues such as Carnegie Hall, SFJAZZ, PASIC, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, The Getty Villa, REDCAT, and the NAMM Show.
James’s original compositions span from the stage to the screen, and include the original score for Sharine Atif’s award-winning film Jebel Banat (Festival de Cannes and Tribeca Film Festival). In 2022, the Los Angles Chamber Orchestra premiered James's electro-acoustic composition "Lift to Return."
As an arts educator, James has presented lectures on Ghanaian music and drumming, world music, percussion, and music pedagogy at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), USC, Utah Valley University, Chapman University, CalArts, Mount Saint Mary’s University, and Glendale Community College. He is currently a member of the music faculty at Mount Saint Mary's University in Los Angeles. James also works as the Program Manager for the CalArts Community Arts Partnership (CAP), overseeing free art programs for thousands of youth participants in Los Angeles County.