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Born to a French mother and an Ecuadorian father, Fernand Vera is a sought-after guitar soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He holds a Bachelor’s of Arts in Music from the University of St. Thomas in Houston and Masters of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of North Texas. Fernand was a prizewinner in the Rantucci Guitar Competition and Eastfield Collegiate Guitar competition (1st Prize-2008), and a finalist in the University of Texas at Dallas International Guitar Competition. His playing was hailed as “sensitive and poetic” by the renowned judges of the Rantucci competition. Fernand has also explored the folk guitar tradition of South America during his three-month stay in Ecuador.

Always eager to learn new skills, Fernand was the recording engineer and sound editor for Kithara Duo's debut CD, “Beings” (Soundset Recordings, 2011).

Fernand's unique gifts as a teacher have won him many heartfelt accolades from students. His guitar students have won prizes in competitions and performed recitals in the North Texas area. His interest in guitar pedagogy has culminated in his co-writing, with Olga Amelkina-Vera, of The Beginning Guitar Method, Vol. 1, now in its fourth edition. He is the author of The Beginning Guitar Method, Vol. 2 for continuing guitar students, and Guitar Fitness: Technical Studies for the Advancing Guitarist. Fernand continuously contributes to the guitar ensemble repertoire through his numerous arrangements and transcriptions. He is faculty at Collin College in Plano, TX.

Olga Amelkina-Vera grew up in Belarus and moved to the United States in 1997. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree Summa cum Laude from the University of St. Thomas in Houston, and then Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of North Texas. Olga was a prizewinner in the Eastfield Collegiate Guitar competition and a finalist in the University of Texas at Dallas International Guitar Competition. An active performer and award-winning composer of works with guitar, she has received commissions for solo guitar and guitar ensemble music, as well as for compositions for guitar with other instruments and voice. She was the first prize winner of the Austin Classical Guitar Society Composition Competition in 2009 for her guitar quartet Ninochka. Her compositions are published by Productions d’Oz, including two works selected for the Frank Koonce Series. In 2010, Olga became a founding member of Presti, the first professional all-women guitar ensemble in the United States. She maintains a busy touring schedule with Kithara Duo and Presti.

Olga strives to expand the guitar repertoire through arrangements and new compositions. Her interest in early music has led her to study and arrange, for guitar, the lyra viol music of seventeenth-century England. Olga’s scholarly articles have been published in Soundboard. Her other interests include fine arts, literature, and foreign languages. She is faculty at Collin College in Plano, TX, and North Lake College in Irving, TX.

Eddie Healy began studying the classical guitar with Dr. Enric Madriguera. He went on to study with Tom Johnson at the University of North Texas, and received his Bachelor’s Degree in classical guitar performance there. He then completed a Master of Music degree with Robert Guthrie at Southern Methodist University. He was awarded a scholarship from the Dallas Federation of Music Clubs, and was the recipient of the Alice Jones-Berding scholarship in 1995.

Eddie currently teaches at The University of Texas at Dallas, Eastfield College, the Spring Creek and Central Park campuses of the Collin County Community College District and the Gray School of Music. He also performs regularly as soloist, accompanist and ensemble member in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. He has performed with the vocalists of The Orchestra of New Spain as well as string soloists from The Dallas Symphony Orchestra. He has been a judge at the Annual Texas International Guitar Competition/Festival and a co-director of the Annual Eastfield Collegiate Guitar Competition/Festival. He traveled to Spain in 2008 for a series of concerts and to Mexico in 2009 to perform at the 19th Annual International Guitar Festival of Morelia.

His original compositions have been performed in Germany, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and the United States. Some were utilized as competition pieces by the Collin College One O’clock Guitar Ensemble when they received First Prize in their category at the University of Texas at Brownsville Guitar Ensemble Competition in 2007 and by the Guitar Arts Advanced Guitar Trio of Houston, Texas at the same competition in 2009. He has composed the theme to a series of podcasts produced by UTD titled, “A Conversation With…” and the alma mater for Rogers Middle School in Prosper, Texas. He is a member of ASCAP.

Eddie has recorded for the label, Schaefers Recording Cooperative. He is currently pursuing his PhD at UTD with his first guitar instructor, Dr. Madriguera, serving as his advisor.

James Wilder has been studying the guitar for the past 15 years. He began his classical studies with Sabine Madriguera at Collin College before transferring to UT Dallas to study with Enric Madriguera. He received a BA and MA in Arts and Performance from UTD and is currently working as a teaching assistant while pursuing a PhD. He performs around the Dallas area, and has taken part in many competitions and festivals - allowing him to perform everywhere from Mexico to Madrid, Spain.