Venezuelan native and double bass player Alex Berti started playing in the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra, the top orchestra in El Sistema, in 1979. He received a Bachelor of Music Education at IUDEM. His orchestral experience has included concerts with Isaac Stern, Ruggiero Ricci, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gary Karr and many more musical luminaries. He was the principal double bass of the Venezuela Symphony Orchestra.
Bassist Cindy Blandino has a diverse background in both chamber music and the symphonic repertoire. While a student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, she studied with David Perlman (Former Principal Bass, The Cleveland Orchestra) and was Principal Double Bass in the Canton Symphony (Canton, Ohio), Ohio Chamber Orchestra, New Cleveland Opera and Opus I Chamber Soloists. Ms. Blandino studied chamber music at the Blossom Music Festival and played in the Colorado Philharmonic (The National Repertory Orchestra).
Janet Clippard spent most of her musical career as the assistant principal bassist of the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra. As a founding member of the American Sinfonietta, a professional chamber orchestra, she toured annually playing in the great concert halls of Europe such as Vienna's Musikverein. Ms. Clippard has also performed with the Jacksonville Symphony and the Florida Orchestra. Presently, she is a member of the Atlantic Classical Orchestra and is the principal bassist for the Miami City Ballet.
