Carleen Anderson is a classically trained vocalist who studied to be a music teacher but her plans were thwarted by then President Ronald Reagan, who took Arts Studies out of the government school system. To sing for her supper was the farthest thing from Anderson's mind, but the political establishment forced her to take on a trade that some of her family already had success in.

Whilst learning music theory at the University of SouthernCalifornia, (USC), she also developed a love of writing from her literature classes at the University of California, Los Angeles, (UCLA).

Being related to successful music artists, opened the door for Anderson to reluctantly

pursue a career in the music performance arena.

In the 25 years since she and her Son have been residents of the UK, Carleen has achieved considerable success as a musician, and has recently turned her attention to

theatre production.

She was cast in the lead role of Julian Joseph's Jazz Opera interpretation of Wagner's

'Tristan and Isolde' in September 2013, which previewed at the Royal Opera House in London and composed a song for the Welsh National Opera's Occupy Protest Series

in September 2014.

Both of these projects helped to build the platform for the project that Carleen has been working on since the dawning of the 21st century, CAGE STREET MEMORIAL.

Her annual residency at London's Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club is booked solid well

in advance of the concert dates.

However, it is the theatre performance of her musical narrative that inspires her to

create art in going forward. To Reach Beyond Borders.

Derek Richards is a multimedia practitioner in every sense. As an artist he has exhibited installation work around the world. He has worked as a musician with the likes of

Courtney Pine, scored for film and TV and has composed music for and directed theatre.

In the 90s Derek co-founded Artec, the UK’s first site for learning digital media production skills. He pioneered teleconferencing for trans-Atlantic live collaborative performance and has since won 11 awards for his digital and interactive media work. As an independent producer and leading his own company HyperJAM between 1997 and 2006, Derek’s clients and partners have included the BBC, the National Theatre, Arts Council England, Channel 4, the Science Museum, the Virgin Group, the British Council, NESTA and the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music for whom he produced the the mulit-award winning online interactive learning resource, SoundJunction commissioned by the UK government’s Department of Culture Media & Sport.

HyperJAM led the way in applications of interactive multimedia to live performance – connecting venues and audiences around the world for real time collaborative  performances and producing interactive projections and soundscapes for theatre, music, dance and the occasional corporate event.

For 5 years Derek ran the BAFTA award winning youth participatory media and production company Hi8us South. Today he combines his production history with his experience in participatory practice (youth & community) to deliver cross-platform arts & media projects and to consult on digital engagement, cultural programming, creative citizenship and learning. He is a member of the audio-visual improv trio, YMV, featuring legendary jazz musicians Cleveland Watkiss and Orphy Robinson, which combines the oldest and newest technology and instrumentation with archive film footage and motion graphics to create real-time improvised music and documentary. There’s also a couple of transmedia and multimedia theatre projects in development.

In 2015, after receiving his second nomination in 5 years, Derek became a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts.

Tim Hopkins is a director, scenographer, theatre and film maker. He has directed productions for The Royal Opera, English National Opera, Opera North, Staatsoper Hannover, Bayerische Staatsoper, Teatro Dell’Opera Roma, Theatre Basel, Bühnen Graz, Almeida Opera, The Aldeburgh Festival, South Bank Centre, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Proms, Alternative Lyrique Festival Paris, The Glimmerglass Festival, Wexford, Birmingham Contemporary Music Group, Batignano Opera Festival, English Touring Opera, Sage Gateshead, Channel 4, Aurora Orchestra, London Artists Projects, Welsh National Opera and others.

These include historic and contemporary repertoire, and, more recently, original projects he has created or made in collaboration, some using new media. In 2001 he was awarded a Nesta Fellowship to consider opera in the light of new technologies; and in 2007, an Arts & Humanities Research Council Fellowship at the Centre for Research in Opera and Music Theatre, Department of Music, University of Sussex. Recent projects include BBC Proms 2012 Music Walk, and Soundtracks, a programme of new music commissions related to urban locations, supported by both Sound and Music and Artists & Engineers.

Emily Blacksell has 15 years experience as a project advisor, producer, assistant director and script editor across the music, theatre, film and most recently television industries.

She has worked in London, Europe and USA on large and smaller scale productions and tours for internationally recognised companies, organisations and individuals, namely the Royal Shakespeare Company, Sir Paul McCartney, Sally Greene OBE, the Old Vic Theatre Company, Old Vic Productions plc, Billy Elliot the musical worldwide, Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club and Greene Light Films. She is also an accomplished violinist working

in contemporary classical and popular music genres.

In March 2011, Julien Boast was appointed Director at Hall for Cornwall.
Prior to this, Julien spent a 20-year career as an arts leader in both subsidised and commercial theatre. From 2002-2010, he worked for the international company, the Ambassador Theatre Group, (ATG), initially as Chief Executive of the award winning Theatre Royal Brighton. In 2009, he was additionally appointed Chief Executive of Churchill Theatre Bromley, where he successfully led the negotiations for Churchill Theatre Bromley's bid for the re-tendering of the management contract with the London Borough of Bromley

Julien's primary expertise is theatre but has grown into cross-cutting art forms. He has extensive experience of exploring cultural areas with young people, contemporary dance and championing the issues around artists with disabilities through work with Arts Council England and other specialist advisors. His other areas of expertise include new writing, creating site specific performances outside and in interesting buildings. He enjoys contributing to and influencing national strategies and providing consultancy advice on early thinking for a vibrant arts economy for the theatre industry.

Orphy Robinson’s extensive musical CV/resume stretches over three decades. He is one of the industry’s leading marimba players, vibraphone players, multi-instrumentalist, composers and musical directors. He has written for Theatre, Television, Opera and provided music scores for the 2012 London Olympics and conducted classical orchestras at the Royal Festival Hall and Albert Hall. In more recent times he has been commissioned as musical director for Jalal Nurridin’s one-off Hustlers Convention concert at London’s Jazz Cafe in February 2014 (part of a documentary on Jalal’s life), as well as performing with selected members of the Jazz Warriors international in support of his good friend and spoken word poet Malik under the monika Malik and The OG’s.

Alongside all of this, Orphy, in tandem with vocal maestro Cleveland Watkiss, heads-up Nexus – One World Music presented by Warriors International aligned with his commitment to his long-term friend Pat Thomas performing in the guise of “Black Top”. With a new Black Top three-track EP recorded live at the Jazz In The Round at the Cockpit Theatre in January 2012 featuring esteemed UK jazz saxophonist Steve Williamson, the marimba maestro Mr Robinson took time out from his hectic schedule

to update Michael ‘The Dood’ Edwards prior to another of Warriors international’s Nexus – One World presentations at St George’s Church, London.

Renell Shaw can be found working in any genre from Pop and Classical to Funk and

world music. He brings the same ethos to everything he works on “aim to be the solution, not the problem” and it is for this reason that he continues to set the bar and

get the job done.

He is an innovative electric, synth and upright bassist as well as a songwriter and producer working within the worlds of film, theatre and dance, as a composer, session musician or musical director. Renell has also provided string and horn arrangements as well as full orchestral works for artists and organisations of which some of these works have required him to conduct or play piano.

Renell has worked with the following organisations: UNESCO (united nations educational scientific and cultural organisation), The London student symphony orchestra and the London philharmonic orchestra, The Grand Union Orchestra, The Hackney Empire, The Southbank Centre and many others as apart of their team collaborating on projects, events and specific commissions.

Renell performs and tours constantly appearing at venues such as: The Royal Festival

Hall (London) and the Edinburgh Festival (Scotland) to Lake Garda (Italy) and the  National Black Theatre (Harlem, New York) alongside artists such as Orphy Robinson, Susie McKenna, Nitin Sawhney, Aruba Red, Zalon Thompson, Maverick Sabre, Soweto Kinch, Rudimental and Aloe Blacc to name a few.

Aside from his work as a musician and composer, Renell believes in the importance of music education for young people and commits an equal amount of his time to supporting creative projects and workshops. Renell also gives creatively and financially to charitable organisations, events and causes.

Renell Shaw has become one of the must see musicians and composers on the London scene working with organisations and artists on both sides of the Atlantic.

Celebrated Egyptian violinist and composer Samy Bishai built his reputation as an outstanding musician through his work with Natacha Atlas, Seckou Keita, Celloman, Digitonal, Zoe Rahman, Arun Ghosh just to name a few. His work as a band leader and composer fuses his Egyptian-ancestry with Western music to create a heady mix of unclassifiable music.