Lauren

VOICE and Piano

Soprano Lauren Carter holds a Master of Music from Southampton University in the UK and a Bachelor of Music and Musical Theatre Certificate from Northwestern University.  Lauren has trained a diverse roster of singers ranging from classical to pop, and her studio focuses on vocal health, proper technique, and performance preparation.  As a recording artist, Lauren has co-written and recorded with Grammy-award winning producers Andrew Williams and Josh Monroy (Igloo) as well as Decca classical chart-topping artist, Martians Levickis.  She released her debut pop EP, ‘American Dream’, in April 2017.  It charted at #6 in the Swiss Dance Charts and she was nominated for a Hollywood Music in Media Award.  She has appeared in recital and concert around Europe and the US, most recently at Thayer Hall Los Angeles in 2016, and played the role of Buffy in the world premiere of A Wedding at Lyric Opera of Chicago, directed by Robert Altman.  She was a member of Co-Opera Co in London from 2010-2012 and was a soloist in the opera Paix a Peyresq with New London Singers.  Also an accomplished voice-over artist, her clients have included Skittles, NATO, documentaries, audiobooks and more.  In addition, she is a member of SAG and Equity, and an accomplished actress having trained at Atlantic Theatre Company in Manhattan and in professional studios in LA and Chicago.  Most recently she portrayed the lead in the world premiere of The Mark of Lia, a psychological thriller at The London Theatre.  Her film work has screened at festivals around the globe, and she has appeared in numerous commercials and print ads. She was a voice faculty member at AMDA from 2014 - 2016, and is also a founding member of the voice faculty at The French Conservatory of Music in Beverly Hills

Yaman

Bass, guitar, ukulele

Yaman Akdogan is a bass and guitar player and a graduate of Berklee College of Music. He has been a professional musician for more than 20 years.
In 2008, while performing at Berklee College of Music Auditions in Athens, Greece as an accompanist bass player for his friend’s audition, his talent was recognized by Ron Savage, vice president and executive director of Berklee College of Music, who invited him to audition and accepted him to Berklee College of Music as a scholarship student. He graduated from Berklee College of Music in 2013 with a performance degree on electric bass guitar.
In 2017, he was hired as a professor to teach bass guitar classes at Bunker Hill Community College. He did duo performances with the 6-time Grammy Award Winning bassist, Oscar Stagnaro in 2014 and 2017, he composed and recorded his original song “Reaching Forward” as a soloist with theMulti-Grammy Award Winner drummer, Mark Walker in 2021. In the same year, he wrote the bass guitar method book, published by Amazon Publishing, ‘’Original Bass Grooves For Essential Styles’’ where he composed and designed 100 original bass patterns in 6 various styles. His bookwas recognized and reviewed by the 4-time Grammy Award winning bassist John Patitucci, and the acclaimed bass guitar educator and writer of more than 100 bass guitar books, Jim Stinnett.
His other performance credits include world renowned musicians such as the Grammy Award Nominee Composer and Pianist Mehmet Ali Sanlikol, bass guitar virtuoso Lincoln Goines, Yamaha Artist and drummer Teri Cote and jazz virtuoso pianist Matt Savage. In 2023, he was selected by the celebrated organization Recording Academy to become a voting member for the prestigious Grammy Awards. In the same year, he served as an adjudicator in the jury committee of ‘’Outstanding Turkey International Jazz Music Competition’’, an international partnership project between Berklee College of Music Online Program in Boston, Massachusetts and ‘’Middle East Technical University Jazz Society’’ in Turkey. In 2024, he performed as a double bassist with the Nef Philharmonic Orchestra at The Carnegie Hall in New York City. In 2025 he was invited by the legendary bassist and chair of the bass department at Berklee College of Muisc, Steve Bailey, to join the Berklee College of Music Summer Workshop 2025 as a faculty, teaching alongside 5 time Grammy Award Winner and world-renowned bassist Victor Wooten.

Multilingual : English, Turkish.
Multi instrumentalist : Electric Bass Guitar, Upright Bass, Guitar, Ukulele.

Sam

Trumpet

Sam Kredich has been playing trumpet since the age of 9. He grew up through the Young Lions Jazz Conservatory based out of San Diego, California, taught by legendary trumpeter and bandleader: Gilbert Castellanos. His list of childhood teachers additionally include Slightly Stoopid trombonist Andy Geib, trumpeters Tim Saeger, Derek Cannon, and Michael Timson.

He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts at UCLA in Global Jazz Studies in Summer of 2023, studying under the talented and scholarly Doctor James Ford III of the Clayton-Hamilton Orchestra, and acclaimed trumpet player and composer Dan Rosenboom of Orenda Records. During his time in university, he worked under and performed with the likes of Terence Blanchard, Arturo O'Farrill, and Hitomi Oba. He performed with astute figures among the likes Dr. Cornel West, and has recorded dozens of times with various groups, most notably on BTS' track ON in 2019. He pursued other interests as well: he learned sitar by studying under Rahul Neuman, who learned from the legendary Shujaat Khan, he learned more about audio engineering through industry veterans like Beth Sweeney and David McKenna, and he continues to learn more about the Ashanti drumming tradition through legendary drummer and master chef: Francis Akotuah. He has also performed as the House Band Trumpet Player for Princess Cruise Lines in 2024.

He currently plays with groups like SkubaTruba: a Balkan Brass band founded and run by Ruby Lim-Moreno, and La Compañía: a Salsa/Latin Jazz Band run by Mauricio Bautista and Shrayes Raman. He also composes, edits, and records on his makeshift setup within an apartment closet when he has time, and was recognized by the ASCAP Foundation Louis Armstrong Jazz Composition Scholarship as a recipient in 2022.

Alex

Saxophone, Clarinet and Flute

Alex Young is a multi-instrumentalist and composer originally hailing from Zionsville, Indiana. After completing his degree in Jazz Saxophone Performance from the prestigious Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, Alex has gone on to tour, perform, and record with a wide array of artists. Alex has toured nationally with Durand Jones and the Indications and performed with legendary five time grammy winner Dr. John. He was recently featured on Jimmy Kimmel Live, performing as a member of the Todd Glass Band. 

Alex maintains a very active teaching schedule, teaching all age ranges and multiple instruments - Saxophone, Clarinet, and Flute as well as Improvisation and Composition. He has worked with countless students individually, as well as giving clinics on jazz improvisation and performance nationwide.