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.

Harold Madrigal Frias – trumpet

Harold is the trumpet player in the Sarahbanda and also performs with the Bundespolizeiorchester in Hanover and as the lead trumpet in musical theatre productions in Hamburg. He has toured with the renowned Buena Vista Social Club, an experience that has further deepened his connection to the Cuban music he loves so much.

Although he is known for being serious in his daily life, Harold transforms completely on stage – he lives the music intensely, enjoys every moment, and can’t help letting go and impressing the audience with his dance moves!

Amelia Febles – violin

Amelia plays the violin in the Sarahbanda and has been part of the Mozart y Mambo project since the beginning. Despite her classical training, she has always been drawn to the freedom and joy of playing popular music, especially from her own country, which makes the Sarahbanda the perfect family to share these musical moments with.

Amelia loves to travel and bring pieces of her culture to new places, spending time with Bruno the french bulldog and she especially adores playing the maracas with the Sarahbanda!

Edgar Olivero – piano

Edgar is a composer, orchestrator, arranger and pianist with Sarahbanda. All his compositions and arrangements are influenced by Cuban and world music. He is an original member of the Mozart & Mambo project, helping to create and shape the repertoire with a very distinctive style of combining Cuban and classical music. The Sarahbanda couldn’t exist without him!

When Edgar isn’t playing the piano, saxophone, bass, percussion or composing, he’s busy working on winning the award for Best Dad of the Year.

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!