Evan Desaulnier began playing guitar at the age of fourteen, shortly thereafter playing in blues and rock bands around his hometown of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario. After graduating from high school, Evan ventured to Southern Ontario to pursue a Bachelor of Science at the University of Guelph.
He soon realized that a career in medicine was not exactly his ideal vocation, so he switched majors and made music his primary focus. He then began studying with jazz-guitarist, Sean Bray, and maintained a busy performance schedule throughout the area. After graduating with a B.A. in Music, Evan moved to Toronto and began teaching guitar, music theory and continued to play regularly throughout the Toronto and Southern Ontario region.
He is currently pursuing a Masters of Music at Western Illinois University in both Jazz Performance and Musicology with the hopes of continuing his teaching and regular work as a jazz guitarist.
Jesse Mazzoccoli is a native of Pittsburgh, PA and is currently a resident of Quincy, IL. Mazzoccoli began playing guitar during his freshman year at Las Vegas High School, almost twenty-one years ago. He has taught professionally in the local Tri-States area since 2005 as an adjunct instructor at Southeastern Community College in Keokuk, IA and at Quincy University in Quincy, IL where he teaches applied guitar lessons.
Mazzoccoli also directs Quincy University's guitar ensemble, which is in its inaugural year. He is a graduate student majoring in guitar performance at WIU with a teaching assistantship that allows him to teach lessons each week for the WIU Community Music School.
Jesse takes an eclectic view of music, currently playing in a country/classic rock band, a jazz band, and the front man of a heavy metal band; he also plays in the Classical and Jazz Guitar Ensembles at WIU. It is his goal to become proficient in all major genres of guitar music, and then some.
