Zoar

Michael Montes began teaching himself to play the piano at the age of seven and later dropped out of medical school in order to make composition his life's work. In 1995 he began the Zoar project in order to explore the dark side of our fading planet with keyboards, guitar and cello. He has also composed scores for several independent films including Joan Stein's One Day Crossing which was nominated for an Academy Award in 2001. His String Quartet No.

1 has recently been recorded along with Sonata for Piano and Cello. String Quartet No. 2 and a new set of works for chamber orchestra entitled Six Pieces for Anselm Kiefer are in preparation.

Peter Rundquist walked away from a promising Wall Street career to pursue music full time. Prowling various NYC music studios he began experimenting with the multi-layered guitar textures with which he has become associated. While engineering and producing Straight from the Delta, a CD of field recordings performed by Mississippi Delta blues musicians, he became interested in the concept of alternate guitar tunings. He has lent his originality to a number of film projects including Scott Saunder's This Close To Nothing and The Headhunter's Sister. Recent work includes Sounds of Monhegan, an ambient CD inspired by the ancient runes and rugged beauty of the island of Monhegan.