Gallery and Artist Bios
Taranada Thrive Grant Application Video Excerpts 2024

Gallery





















Artist Bios
(2025, 2026 Proposed Artist Collaborations)
Amati Schmitt
Amati Schmitt born August 8, 1995 in Thionville is a French Sinti (Romani Gypsy) guitarist. Schmitt grew up in a family of Sinti musicians. From the age of six, his father Dorado Schmitt first taught him the piano, then proceeded to teach him the guitar, when he learned the tradition of Gypsy Jazz. At the age of nine, he had his first stage appearance. At the age of 14 he appeared at the Jazz Fest Vienna, then at the festivals in Monaco, Lyon and Colmar. At the age of sixteen, he performed with his own band at the Django Reinhardt Festival in Samois sur Seine. He has played at the New York jazz club Birdland and Carnegie Hall in 2018. He has also appeared with Hans'che Weiss and with Jimmy Rosenberg.
Erika Lakatos
Erika Lakatos comes to fine arts from a family of renowned Romani musicians. She has been an award- winning photographer in Washington, a prodigious contemporary artist, and an experimental jazz singer winning a scholarship at Long Island University to study jazz, chosing photography as her second major. She has been continuously active in music, where she navigates, experiments between melodies of Flamenco, Roma, Indian and mainstream jazz. She exhibits frequently at a long list of galleries in Europe, recently Budapest Ludwig Museum the Pallace of Art where she also gives interactive “Art and Tolerance” workshops. Ms Lakatos also performed and exhibited in Paris at Hungarian Institute, Tampere Labor Museum, Helsinki Savoy Theatre Gallery, Berlin Gallery Kai Dikhas and Hungarian Academy in Roma. Just recently in 2016 Ms Lakatos art work was selected by Károly Kincses photo-museologyst to Highness crown Prince of Dubai Seikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Art Exhibition and to his art collection book “Dubai Photo Exhibiton”, to present her art work. Same year Erikas work also was also choosen to be a part of Esztergom Photo Biennale exhibition an art collection book, as well as was selected to exhibit at “Pajta” private gallery and represent her art work at art collection photography book “Pajtabook”. Recently in 2017 Ms. Lakatos represented her art work at first Romani women exhibition “Painted Dreams” in New York United Nation, she sang at the opening and was invited to present her work by Katalin Bogyai US Hungarian Cultural Ambassador to introduce her “Art, Tolerance and Equality” workshop at an International Women Empowerment conference at the United Nation. In 2017 Erika was also invited to participate and represent her view on “Romani Image and Identity” at “Culture Beyond Borders” international conference in Boston at Harvard University. In 2017 Ms. Lakatos was honored to be invited to collaborate with the legendary Orhan Galjus journalist and documentary film director, to a be a creative partner in production work in Budapest. The special project called “ Roma Holocaust and Identity” The main goal is to give respect, to research, educate and tell the story, the message of Romani holocaust survivals to the next generation.
Jeronimo Maya
Jeronimo Maya is guitar genius, and a direct descendant from the guitarist Ramón Montoya. He started his musical career at the early age of 5. He was immediately recognized as a gifted child by the audience and the flamenco community in Spain, and whose worth was recognized by great masters, such as Sabicas or Paco de Lucia. His playing is full of personality and character, as well as virtuosity. His complex harmonies and his conception of music are definitely forward-thinking. He has accompanied many singers: Diego el Cigala, Chano Lobato, Esperanza Fernández, Estrella Morente, José de la Tomasa, and more frequently his uncle Ricardo Losada el Yunque, Ginesa Ortega or Paco del Pozo, as well as sharing stage with artists such as Paco de Lucia, Camarón de la isla and Sabicas, who were friends as well as colleagues.
Daniel Caballero
Daniel Caballero flamenco dancer from Madrid studied at the Centro de Danza Amor de Dios with the best teachers, especially Alfonso Losa, as well as José Maya, David Paniagua, Nino de los Reyes, etc. In his professional career, he has worked in emblematic tablaos in Spain such as Casa Patas, Cardamomo, El Carmen and City Hall. He has been asked to collaborate with artists of the stature of Montse Cortés, Jerónimo Maya, Belén López and Andrés Barrios, among others, on national and international stages, and at festivals such as Vejer de la Frontera and Suma Flamenca. He has also collaborated with the singer Omar Montes. He has solo projects abroad, mainly in the United States, Iceland and Germany. He is currently immersed in new projects together with the dancer Nerea Carrasco, taking part in festivals in Arles, France.
Jeronimo Maya
Jeronimo Maya is guitar genius, and a direct descendant from the guitarist Ramón Montoya. He started his musical career at the early age of 5. He was immediately recognized as a gifted child by the audience and the flamenco community in Spain, and whose worth was recognized by great masters, such as Sabicas or Paco de Lucia. His playing is full of personality and character, as well as virtuosity. His complex harmonies and his conception of music are definitely forward-thinking. He has accompanied many singers: Diego el Cigala, Chano Lobato, Esperanza Fernández, Estrella Morente, José de la Tomasa, and more frequently his uncle Ricardo Losada el Yunque, Ginesa Ortega or Paco del Pozo, as well as sharing stage with artists such as Paco de Lucia, Camarón de la isla and Sabicas, who were friends as well as colleagues.
Juno Black
Juno Black is an audiovisual technology production expert. With a background in music composition, engineering, and events production, Juno’s curiosity has led her to venture into new and advanced audiovisual technologies. With consistent experience in managing entertainment and creative projects, Juno can organize, budget, staff, coordinate, and deliver projects in a timely fashion. Whether it is a film, concert, or album, you can rest assured that she will take detailed steps to maintain the best quality. In the ’90s, Juno focused on music, production, and engineering in her native Colombia, working with several artists, studios, and record labels. This experience led her to understand the value of new technology and how it can affect media and entertainment companies’ efficiency. Her early experiences in A&R and management for companies like Pie Grande, co-discos, Tower Records, and Sony allowed her to integrate innovation across various projects. By being an early adopter of digital audio and non-linear editing, she expanded into commercial music, film, and TV scoring. Pioneering digital mixing in Live events made her engineering and system design skills to be in high demand. After moving to the U.S. in 2000, she produced, engineered, and coordinated events for clients like MJ Audio, WGBH, Harvard University, Mass concerts, and The Cambridge Multicultural art Center, among many others. As a co-founder of Moana productions, she built and operated music studios and post-production facilities in Boston and New York, expanding into HD video. They managed and produced commercial, industrial, and film projects, with an emphasis on live multi-cam, multi-track music concert production with clients like Univision, Tribeca film festival, Greenwich Village Entertainment, MTV, and Fuse. Since 2005 She worked in production coordination and sound engineering in venues like the Highline Ballroom, Webster Hall, and the Manhattan center. At the same time, she maintained a busy schedule playing keyboards and bass in several bands, composing and engineering recordings in places like Avatar and Godelstring studios. She managed national tours for the non-profit educational organization Jazz Reach. An opportunity to teach at Mediatech Institute, and looking for a less stressful environment, prompted a move to Austin, Texas, where she currently runs Juno Black Music, a consulting/integration practice. One of the highlights in her work in this area was managing the iconic One World Theatre refurbishing. Juno Black Music is a dealer of several professional audio companies, including Music Group (Midas, KT, Tc, Turbosound, Tannoy), RCF, Starin, and Audix. She spends her time consulting companies in new technology implementation, composing original music, recording, and managing multimedia projects. She has extensive knowledge in new technologies like Immersive Audio, VR/AR, and advanced Audiovisual workflows.
Roby Lakatos
Lakatos was born in 1965 into a family of Romani violinists descended from János Bihari, a composer who influenced Brahms and Liszt. He was introduced to music as a child. When he was nine years old, he made his public debut as first violinist in a Romani band. In 1984 he won first prize for classical violin at the Béla Bartók Conservatory of Budapest. For the next ten years, he led the house band at a Brussels restaurant where he was complimented by Yehudi Menuhin for his performance of a piece by Liszt. In March 2004, he appeared with the London Symphony Orchestra in the orchestra's Genius of the Violin festival with Maxim Vengerov.
Lakatos recorded a Prokofiev album with Polina Leschenko, Christian Poltéra, and Martha Argerich; Klezmer Karma with the Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Yiddish singer Myriam Fuks, and accordionist Aldo Granato; Roby Lakatos with Musical Friends with Stéphane Grappelli, Vadim Repin, Randy Brecker, Tony Lakatos, Marc Fosset, and the Vieuxtemps Quartet.
His concert career developed gradually, and now Roby Lakatos spends most of his time performing in various stages around the world. His ensemble has appeared, among other places, at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival, in Académies Musicales de Saintes, Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Ludwigsburg Schloßfestspiele and the Helsinki Festival, as well as in prestigious concert halls (Santa Cecilia in Rome, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Zankel Hall – Carnegie Hall in New York). His versatility has given him and his ensemble the opportunity to collaborate with major orchestras–The London Symphony Orchestra, French National Radio Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, to name a few – as well as with numerous exceptional artists, including Giora Feidman, Herbie Hancock, Joshua Bell, Maksim Vengerov, Nigel Kennedy and Randy Brecker. In Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan he first performed in 1999, and has since been regularly playing in Asia. He records for Hungarian and Belgian television networks and has also appeared on German television and German national radio stations, as well as on BBC in London.
Labonee Mohanta
Labonee Mohanta, disciple of the late Kathak maestro Pandit Chitresh Das, began her training at the early age of 8. She is now a prominent solo artist, regularly performing Kathak concerts to great acclaim throughout the United States, Canada, India, and Europe. Labonee is renowned for dynamism in her dance, fiery footwork, subtlety and grace in movement, and performing some of the fastest pirouettes in the field of Indian dance today. She also employs the technique “Kathak Yoga” where she simultaneously sings the rhythmic cycle, dances complex mathematical patterns, and plays an instrument at the same time. Labonee has been presented at major festivals such as the Chetla Murari Sangeet Sammelan in Kolkata, North American Bengali Conference in San Francisco and Toronto, and the New York Kathak Festival in New York City. She also collaborates with musicians around the world, including Oliver Rajamani’s ‘Flamenco India" and ‘For the Love of Tabla’ presented at Harbourfront Centre Theatre, Toronto. Previously, Labonee toured extensively with Chitresh Das Dance Company and served as center director and senior teacher at her Guru’s institution for many years. Labonee also teaches workshops internationally, including in India, USA, France, and Ireland.
Labonee is the Artistic Director of Lavanya Academy of Indian Arts in California, where she trains her dance company and teaches 60 students in 3 locations in the Bay Area. She has also performed and choreographed for Toronto Tabla Ensemble (TTE) in North America numerous times with her dance and choreography featured in music videos and short films. She choreographed for and was featured in award-winning music videos such as “Faceoff” and “Prayer for the Mother”, which have gained international recognition as best short film as well as best song in World Music, and more recently choreographed for and stars in the dance drama short film “Sare Saath: A Kathak Tale of Courage.” As a second generation Indian based in America, she plays a significant role in preserving the cultural heritage of India in the East and spreading these values in the West. Through her work she continues the mission of promoting, educating, and thus preserving the rich heritage of Kathak
Colin Hancock
Colin Hancock is a Grammy Nominated cornetist and native Austinite. In addition to leading the Joymakers, Colin is a musicologist and producer, focused on American jazz music of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He is the son of the honorable Romani scholar Dr. Ian Hancock representing his Romani and Afro American ancestory through his music. He is also a student at the University of Texas School of Law
Past Artist Collaborations
Vadim Kolpakov - Romani Music
Cindy Cashdollar - Texas Music
"Blues Boy" Hubbard - Texas Blues Guitar
Eric Johnson - Texas Electric Guitar
Freddie Kaydahzinne - Native American Apache Chants
Joel Guzman - Conjunto music.
Aashish Khan - Indian Classical Sarod
Sujaat Khan - Indian Classical Sitar
Murari Vadekkencheri - Indian Classical Violin
Sruthy Sarathy - Indian Classical Violin
Diane Schurr - American Jazz
L. Shankar - Indian Classical/Jazz violin
Glen Velez - Frame Drum World Music
Willie Nelson - Texas Country
Paravai Munniamma - Indian Tamil Folk
Chinna Ponne - Indian Tamil Folk
Langa Artists - Indian Rajasthani Folk
Hariya Mazin - Middle Eastern Egyptian Dance
Tomasa La Macanita - Flamenco