Sarah Willis – Horn
Sarah plays the French horn in the Sarahbanda and also in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and is the founder of the Mozart y Mambo project. As a „classical” musician, she loves the music of great composers like Mozart, Beethoven, Strauss and John Williams, but admits that lately, her favourite musical experiences on the stage has been performing Cuban music with her “familia Cubana”. To play with the Sarahbanda fufils the dream she had of playing with a Cuban band – the music gets under her skin and playing with her “familia Cubana” simply makes her happy and of course it makes her want to dance!
Yuniet Lombida – saxophone
Yuniet plays the saxophone in the Sarahbanda and has performed with most of Cuba´s top bands. He is a passionate advocate and educator of music and is always searching for new ways to share his love and knowledge of his beloved Cuban music. He thinks that the Sarahbanda has many possibilities to present Cuban music with a whole new sound and is proud that his composition `Guajira‘ is on the debut album. Our „Lombi“ not only brings to the Sarahbanda his own unique compositions and arrangements, he also has our vote for the best hairstyle of the group.
Aylín Pino – violin
Aylín is happy that the members of the Sarahbanda decided to include a violin on the new album and is proud that the album includes her composition “Nostalgias”. Aylin says that to understand Cuban music, you have to listen to a lot of Cuban music because you can´t explain the intricacies with just words. Aylin plays in the Havana Lyceum Orchestra and loves experimenting with the different styles of Cuban music and also classical music. When she is not performing or exploring music she can be found running around after her son Diego!
Jorge Aragón – piano
Jorge is Composer, orchestrator, arranger, and pianist in the Sarahbanda. All of his compositions and arrangements are influenced by film music which is his great passion. Through the piano, he seeks to mirror the symphony orchestra. He’s an original member of the Mozart & Mambo project, helping to create the repertoire as a composer, orchestrator and arranger. His second passion is cooking for his family and friends. The members of the Sarahbanda have given his recipes their seal of approval!
Carlos García – bass
Carlos is the Sarahbanda double bass player and has been part of the Mozart y Mambo project from the beginning. He is proud to be the fundament of the Sarahbanda, which he is most of the time until Sarah comes and steals some of his low notes… He loves to travel and explore new cultures and people but he really chose the wrong instrument for comfortable travel… He cannot live without neither classical music nor Cuban music, because both have been in his life since the very beginning of his career. Playing with the Sarahbanda is always something special for him because it gives the pleasure of performing Cuban music of the highest quality but in a different way which has never been tried before.
Alejandro Aguiar – percussion
Alejandro has been a percussionist in the Havana Lyceum Orchestra for more than 10 years. He participated in the whole Mozart and Mambo trilogy and is an irreplaceable member of the team. He loves to travel and play in concerts and the audience can always spot his passion for the music on stage. He is usually seen traveling very quickly through the streets of Havana on his scooter carrying various percussion instruments. He loves playing with The Sarahbanda, a family of Cuban musicians led by Sarah Willis, who has been in charge of creating this band with a unique and original sound. For Ale, playing with The Sarahbanda is making history for Cuban and world music.
Adel González – percussion
Adel plays the congas and any other percussion instruments needed in the Sarahbanda. He is one of the most sought after percussionists in Cuba and abroad and has been playing with all the great Cuban bands for over 30 years, delighting audiences worldwide with his passion for percussion on stage. He loves to teach and travel and The Sarahbanda is very lucky to have him – and love not only his playing but also for his spirit and his singing while he plays!
