THE GOZA PERSONNEL

Dulce Santana was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Ever since she can remember, music was a part of her upbringing, as she comes from a very artistic family. She moved to the United States at a young age and has performed extensively throughout the United States.

Her voice is mesmerizing and her music is touching. She writes and sings in English and Spanish. Dulce has a creative and innovative style that ranges from Jazz, Latin Jazz, ballads, salsa, and pop. Her voice is powerful and somehow intimate, sultry and sensual; and while her music is diverse, it is always filled with genuine sentiment.

Her self-produced CD entitled "Forever", showcases the exquisite flavor of her original compositions which has received extensive radio airplay throughout the United States and South America.

In addition to singing, Dulce is also an accomplished author and illustrator of children’s books.

Karina Hernandez was born and raised in Mexico City, Mexico. At the age of 8, she attended the prestigious music school Escuela Nacional de Musica de la UNAM. There she began her violin studies along with voice and music theory lessons. At the age of 19 she joined the Orchestra and Chorus of the Marines of Mexico.

In 2000 she moved to the United States and resided in Maryland. There she joined Mariachi Las Americas (a group that had the privilege of performing for former President Bill Clinton). During 2002 she moved to Connecticut where she shortly became a member of Fiesta del Norte and Mariachi Connecticut. During her first years as a member of Fiesta del Norte she participated in important events such as Arts and Ideas in New Haven and performed at various universities, libraries, and venues throughout New England. In 2009, she joined The New Britain Symphony and The Connecticut Orchestra Valley, where she led the second violin section for two concert seasons.

She is a former violin and vocal teacher at Guakia School of Arts in Hartford, Connecticut. Presently Karina is attending Central Connecticut State University, studying violin with Karin Fagerburgk, formerly of the Hartford Symphony.

Jeff Taylor, a long-standing fixture in the Connecticut music scene, has performed extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Some of his notable work includes playing tenor and lead alto saxophones for the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, a position he held for over ten years. Jeff has also performed with such musical greats as: Paul Anka, Joan Rivers, Johnny Mathis, James Darren, Joe Piscopo, Bob Newhart, Al Martino and Carol Lawrence.

Jeff holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Connecticut, where he also presently serves as a private woodwind instructor and clinician at their Community School of the Arts. Some of Jeff's other teaching credits include: Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts faculty; Hartford Camerata Conservatory Jazz Ensemble Director; and adjudicator for the Northern Region Middle School Music Festival and Connecticut All-State Music Festival.

In addition to performing and teaching, Jeff is also an accomplished arranger, scoring multi-instrumental arrangements in a multitude of genres, including many of those in Goza's repertoire.

Asher Delerme is one of Connecticut’s most versatile and accomplished percussionists. As his formal training began in the distinguished World Music program at Wesleyan University, Delerme was already touring the United States with Abraham Kobina Adzenyah during his freshman year. While a junior, he’d make his pilgrimage to Ghana, West Africa to study Ghanaian drumming and dance, and upon graduation, he returned to his native New York City to study and perform Afro-Caribbean and Afro-Brazilian music.

As a performer, Delerme has toured the United States, the Caribbean, Canada and Asia, and also played Carnegie Hall. A former artist-in-residence for the New York State Commission on the Arts, Delerme is currently listed with both the CT Commission for the Arts Contours and Young Audiences of America programs.

Delerme has performed with luminaries the likes of Hilton Ruiz, Paquito De Rivera, Dr. Billy Taylor, Jay Hoggard, Foday Musa Suso, Marion Meadows, Pete Seeger, Philip Glass, Jimmy Sabater and Miles Jaye, among many others. He has collaborated with singers and poets, as well as gospel, theater, dance, percussion and orchestral ensembles. His recording resume includes television and radio soundtracks, jingles and appearances on over 25 albums/CDs.