mandorla music

About the Ensemble

Amaury Cabral is a guitarist originally from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Following studies at the Conservatorio Nacional de Musica de Santo Domingo, he came to Berklee, graduating in 2025. He has had the opportunity to perform in such venues "Estadio Olimpico" in Santo Domingo, Scullers Jazz Club, Jimmy's Jazz and Blues, Keystone Corner, Dizzy's Club and Smalls Jazz Club, as well as venues in Europe with master musicians like Terri Lyne Carrington, Etienne Charles, Tia Fuller, Mimi Jones and others. He has worked in recording sessions with musicians such as Mike Pope, Nate Smith, Randy Brecker and Geoffrey Keezer. Cabral has been mentored by masters like Nir Felder, Oz Noy, Tim Miller, Matthew Stevens, Ed Tomassi, Jacques Schwart-Bartz, Godwin Louis, Nicholas Payton and Terri Lyne Carrington, and has been part of classes/clinics with the likes of Kurt Rosenwinkel, Wolfgang Muthspiel and Gilad Hekselman. Cabral actively performs in the American northeast, introducing himself as an exciting and promising young voice in the guitar.

Allan Chase is a jazz saxophonist, composer, professor, and former administrator who has performed jazz and improvised music since 1974 with his own groups and as a member of the Lewis Nash-Allan Chase Duo (1979-80), Your Neighborhood Saxophone Quartet (1981-2018), Prima Materia with Rashied Ali (1992-2000), the Steve Lantner Quartet with Joe Morris and Luther, the Bruno Råberg Quartet and Tentet, Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, and his own bands. He appears as a soloist on over sixty jazz and improvised music recordings, several rock and classical recordings, and several movie scores. Since 1981, he has taught a wide range of college courses in jazz history, transcription and analysis, ear training, harmony, counterpoint, music theory, ensembles, and private lessons in saxophone and improvisation. He began his teaching career at Berklee in 1981, and has also taught at Tufts University (1993-7) and New England Conservatory (1994-2012, 2023-present), where he served as chair of jazz studies, chair of contemporary improvisation, and dean of faculty.

Peter Kenagy is a jazz trumpet player and composer whose music has been called elegant and adventurous, both modern and rooted in tradition. At 18, Kenagy moved from Seattle to study at the New England Conservatory, in part to study with George Russell. He is a trumpet student of Charles Schlueter. He is a distinguished bandleader, recording artist, freelancer, session musician, and collaborator, with numerous recordings and volumes of compositions available. He writes original music for the Peter Kenagy Octet, for solo piano, and for large and small jazz groups. Since 2019, he’s led the Mad Monkfish Jazz Orchestra. Kenagy has taught at Berklee, NEC, Mass Art, MIT and Holy Cross. Kenagy lectures on jazz history and other American music topics, as well as teaching trumpet, jazz theory, improvisation, and ear training. His doctoral dissertation on the music of George Russell won the Nicholas Temperley Prize for Excellence in a Dissertation in 2009 from the musicology department at the University of Illinois. 

Rick McLaughlin is a bassist, composer, arranger, and producer whose dynamic performances have taken him to stages on four continents. For more than 25 years, he has anchored the Grammy-nominated jazz ensemble Either/Orchestra, appearing in festivals and recordings from Boston to Barcelona and Addis Ababa. McLaughlin has shared the stage with Don Byron, Steve Lacy, Danilo Pérez, John Zorn, Mulatu Astatke, and other musical innovators, earning praise from George Russell as "one of my favorite bassists." His acclaimed debut album Study of Light features a groundbreaking jazz adaptation of Ravel's String Quartet in F Major. Also an educator, McLaughlin is Professor of Harmony and Jazz Composition at Berklee College of Music, where his course on Stevie Wonder led to his guest appearance on The Wonder of Stevie podcast (2024).

Randy Pingrey is a trombonist and composer. He got his start in Eau Claire, Wisconsin performing and recording with the indie rock band Bon Iver. Since relocating to Boston he has gone on to play with The Ayn Inserto Jazz Orchestra, Felipe Salles' Interconnections Ensemble, and many other groups. He also coleads The Olson Pingrey Quartet with bari saxophonist Kathy Olson. His compositions have been played by the Backbeat Big Band, The Achilles Heal! Saxophone Quartet, and his own group, The Randy Pingrey Jazz Orchestra.

Liz Sinn is a pianist and composer who has become a highly sought-after collaborator in the greater New England area since entering Berklee College of Music in 2020. Though she specializes in jazz, Sinn is a versatile musician who frequently plays and writes music ranging from classical to Latin, to musical theater, pop, and more. Throughout her time in Boston, she has been privileged to perform with many wonderful musicians such as Grammy award–winners Neal Smith and Charlie Rosen’s 8-Bit Big Band, in addition to internationally-acclaimed artists Il Divo, Rafael Barata, Greg Ryan, and Pritesh Walia. Along with her extensive work as a performer, Sinn is also a skilled writer. She has worked as an arranger and copyist for distinguished Latin artists Andrés Cepeda and Daymé Arocena, in addition to directing her own projects.

Brooke Sofferman is a drummer and composer and an endorser of Sonor Drums, Istanbul Agop Cymbals and Vater Percussion. Sofferman is active on the Boston and New York jazz scene. His original bands the Sofferman Perspective, The Adventure Time Trio and Lean 2 and the demand for his skills as a sideman keep him very busy. His five releases as a leader have earned dozens of rave reviews from publications like the Boston Globe and Downbeat. Sofferman is also highly in demand as a teacher. He has been teaching at his alma mater, the New England Conservatory Of Music for 20 years, in addition to teaching posts at Berklee and UMass Boston.