PUZZLE OF LIGHT is the name of the performance group of Michael & Sandy Bashaw. While the personnel varies, PUZZLE OF LIGHT always includes musicians with individual musical backgrounds and experience ranging from jazz and rock to ethnic and world music. These blended influences produce a distinctive “New World” sound that is both original and familiar; a repertoire that is traditional and experimental.

With a diverse repertoire and love of improvisation, PUZZLE OF LIGHT can fashion an evening of music to fit any event. They hosted a reception for, and created a performance with, principal members of the Sarajevo Circle theater company at the first anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Accords in Dayton, Ohio, November 1996. Held in Bashaw’s studio loft and attended by international heads of state, diplomats, peace keeping groups and international press, this powerful and emotional performance moved many in the audience to tears. During a visit to Bosnia, PUZZLE OF LIGHT was asked to perform at Sarajevo’s International Music Festival for the year 2000

John Benjamin joined the University of Dayton faculty in 1998, having served previously on staff at the University of Akron and Butler University (Indianapolis). He was appointed as Artist-In-Residence at UD in 2000. Mr. Benjamin earned the Master’s degree in accompanying and chamber music at the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music and the Bacehlor’s degree at the University of Akron. He is a frequent collaborative musician in a variety of ensembles, in addition to serving as Director of Traditional Music at Epiphany Lutheran Church, Centerville.

Originally from Ottawa, OH, Chris Cornelius is a student at the University of Dayton majoring in Mechanical Engineering.  Music has been a huge part of his life since he was a child and will continue to be in his future.  He performs in the Dayton Jazz Ensemble and the Dayton Jazz Combo.  This semester he is co-oping at GE Aviation in Evendale.  He performed with Musica! at their 2009 Spring Series Concert.

Brent hails from Springfield Ohio and has lived almost his entire life in the Dayton and Springfield area. He has played clarinet since the age of 9, and flute and saxophone almost as long. He is a member of the Dayton Concert Band, the Fellowship Winds Woodwind Quintet, and the OK Syncopators Big Band (Urbana ). He has played with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Springfield Symphony, the Dayton Opera and numerous orchestral, jazz and musical theater productions from Wilmington to Kettering and Piqua to Springfield . When he is not playing or teaching privately, he works as an engineer to support his wife and two teenagers still at home. He performed with Musica! at their 2009 Spring Series Concert.

Leah Estes, harpist, began her musical study on the piano at age eight, and began her study of harp under the late Joan Seymour at the age of sixteen. She graduate from Cedarville University in 2005 after majoring in harp performance and piano pedagogy. While there, she studied harp under Leslie Norris and Jackie Davis. Leah currently teaches privately, both piano and harp students, and enjoys playing the harp for various occasions in the Dayton area. She also enjoys playing occasionally with many area ensembles including the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra and the Springfield Symphony Orchestra. Leah and her husband, Joel, reside in Dayton with their three young children, and are members of Kemp Road Baptist Church, where Leah serves as pianist.

The Kettering Children’s Choir is a choral organization whose mission is to educate the talented young singers of the Miami Valley and build an appreciation for musical excellence. The Kettering Children’s Choir has established a local and national reputation of choral excellence and is one of the largest and most successful children’s choral programs in the state of Ohio. It was founded in 1986 and now includes over 200 singers from 9 countries and 30 Miami Valley communities. Singers range in age from 8 to 18 and are admitted to the program by audition. The upper level choirs tour nationally and internationally.
Past performance tour highlights include:

•Mozart Festival – Salzburg, Austria
•Concert with Czech Philharmonic Children’s Chorus – Prague, Czech Republic
•Epcot Candlelight Processional with Disney Orchestra -Orlando
•Performances at Westminster Abbey and Coventry Cathedral – England
•In concert at the National Cathedral – Washington D.C.
•Touring Performances throughout Australia, England, Wales, Germany, and Austria.

Evan is a native of Dayton, OH, and a product of Stivers School for the Art’s heralded jazz program.  He was a part of their 2004 jazz ensemble which, after winning top honors at The Berklee School of Music Jazz Fest, was widely ragarded the top high school jazz group in the country.  From his time at Stiver’s until now, he has performed and worked with many jazz greats such as Claude Thomas (director), Terrell Stafford, Steve Wilson, Eric Alexander, Don Braden, Mulgrew Miller, and others.  He has toured with the Dayton Jazz Ensemble and Dayton Jazz Combo, in St. Louis, Chicago (twice including receiving Outstanding Combo honors at Elmhurst Jazz Fest), Milwaukee, Columbus, and Cleveland.  He is now a senior at the University of Dayton studying to receive his Bachelor of Arts in Music with a focus on jazz.  After graduation, he plans to relocate to Chicago in pursuit of  a graduate degree in music education.  He performed with Musica! at their 2009 Spring Series Concert.

Lee Ann Kinner has been performing professionally since the age of thirteen.  In the 1960s, she sang and played with The Sounds of Youth, which became The Hill Side Singers in the 1970s.  This ensemble was the hillside group performing the famous Coke commercial “I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing.”  Lee Ann is a composer/arranger as well.  Her composition “Play the Game,” written in 1979, was chosen by NBC for the American Baseball League theme for the 1980 Summer Olympics.  She graduated magna cum laude from Wright State University with concentrations in voice and guitar.  She also holds certificates in Orff Schulwerk from the Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati.  She has taught music from K-12th grade and maintains a voice/guitar studio in which she has been teaching students privately for over 31 years.   She performed with Musica! at their 2009 Spring Series Concert.

Created in 1999, The Maimisburg High School Madrigal Singers are directed by Lee Ann Kinner, and have since established a well-known tradition of excellence.  The group is composed mainly of upperclassmen and rehearses daily.  The Madrigal Singers compete annually in the Ohio Music Education Association Solo and Ensemble Contest where they have received superior ratings yearly since 1999.  They have also received accolades for their performances at L’Auberge, Weltons, and other area clubs and restaurants.  They perform an eclectic repertoire including Broadway, jazz favorites, madrigals, and classical compositions, often in foreign languages.  They performed with Musica! at their 2009 Spring Series Concert.