Members of the TOPAZ Jazz Ensemble

Mimi Dye, viola, violin, director, composer

Mimi Dye, prominent American violist, composer and artistic director of TOPAZ, is well known to audiences throughout the United States as a soloist, chamber musician, and jazz performer.

Born in Oklahoma, she graduated from Mills College and Brooklyn College, where she was a student of Itzhak Perlman. As a classical soloist, she presented her New York debut recital at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, was presented by Four Seasons Concerts in her San Francisco debut at Herbst Theatre, and has appeared as a soloist with orchestras and music festivals across the continent. Her numerous orchestral credits include playing in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, touring with Barbra Streisand and recording movie scores in Los Angeles.

Her explorations into jazz and composition have given her the opportunity to work with many distinguished players, including Eddie Gale, Wayne Wallace, Terry Disley, Seward McCain, and Peter Barshay. Her first CD of original jazz compositions, “River in the Sun,” was released in December 2007, and her jazz viola concerto "One Beautiful Light" was commissioned by the San Jose Chamber Orchestra and performed in October 2008.

Donna Viscuso, flute and saxophone

Donna Viscuso is an experienced performer, composer and teacher. She has worked in numerous schools, educational programs, and grant-sponsored touring ensembles for over 20 years.

Donna has written music for several award-winning documentaries, including "My Home My Prison" by Erica Marcus and Susana Bluaustein, "Sex Is" and "Chuck Solomon Coming of Age" by Marc Huestis. Her compositions can also be heard on the popular Living Books collection of Educational CD-ROMs. This collection includes the "ABC Book" and "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss, "Harry and the Haunted House," and "Arthur's Reading Race."

Donna has performed, recorded and toured with many groups, including the VNote Ensemble (formerly the Snake Trio), Jackeline Rago and The Venezuelan Music Project, Altazor, Wild Mango, the TOPAZ All Stars Chamber Jazz directed by violist Mimi Dye, the Blazing Redheads, the KTO project, Chelle and Friends, Brazilian singer Adriana Moreno, and Chilean singer/songwriter Lichi Fuentes.

She studied music at Laney College and San Francisco State University, and has experience playing flute, saxophone, and harmonica. Donna has traveled to Venezuela to further her musical studies. While there, she performed and recorded with several renowned musicians, including percussionist Alexander Livinalli and members of the Fundacion Bigott (Venezuela's Folkloric Institute).

Donna also performs regularly with the Adventures in Music Program, sponsored by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, performing in elementary schools throughout the S.F. school district.

Michaelle Goerlitz, percussion

Since her arrival in San Francisco in 1980, Michaelle has been enjoying, absorbing, and contributing the Bay Area's musical richness.

She has played, recorded, and toured with a variety of artists including Mark Levine, Soul Sauce, the Pickpocket Ensemble, rhiannon, Wayne Wallace, Val Pettiford, Jami Sieber, Barbara Higbie, Novo Tempo, and Maria Volonte. She was also a founding member of Wild Mango.

In 2007, Michaelle was named a rising star under the percussion category in Downbeat magazine.

Jim Schneider, piano

Jim Schneider is a Bay Area-based jazz musician and multi-instrumentalist who plays piano, saxophone, flute, and clarinet. He performs all styles of jazz and is particularly fond of Latin styles. He has performed with Viva Brasil, Colombian singer-songwriter Claudia Gomez, the San Jose Jazz Orchestra, jazz violist Mimi Dye, singer-songwriter Ed Johnson, trombonist Bill Watrous, and has toured Europe to perform in workshops and festivals.

Jim has taught Jazz Piano and Jazz Improvisation for several years at De Anza College in Cupertino, California.

Saúl Sierra, bass

Saúl Sierra was born and raised in Mexico City, where he started playing professionally in 1990. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts in 1995 and attended the Berklee College of Music, where he graduated with a major in Performance in the summer of 1999. His teachers included Oscar Stagnaro, Rich Appleman, Daniel Morris, and Jim Stinnet. He received the US Scholarship Tour award and the Outstanding Performer award at Berklee.

As a resident of the San Francisco Bay Area since the fall of 1999, Saúl has performed, toured, or recorded with Nestor Torres, Jimmy Bosh, Eddie Montalvo, Johny Rodríguez, Orestes Vilató, Bobi Céspedes, Antonio Sánchez, Miles Peña, John Santos, Jesús Díaz, Rebeca Mauleón, Mark Levine, Greg Landau, Mike Spiro, Jackeline Rago, Chuchito Valdez, Alexander Livinali, Wayne Wallace, Aquiles Baez, Marco Granados, Anthony Blea, Doug Beavers, and María Márquez, among others.

For the past 10 years, Saúl has been a member of some of the leading bands in the Bay Area, including the John Santos Quintet/Sextet, Bobi Cespedes’ band, Dr. Loco’s Rocking Jalapeño Band, El Tren Trío, Anthony Blea y su Charanga, the Snake Trío, Jesús Díaz y su QBA, the Bay Area Afro-Cuban All Stars, the Venezuelan Music Project, Corazón Sur, and the Sababa band.

A founding member of Vission Latina, the band that he co-leads with Carlos Caro, percussionist extraordinaire, and Marco Díaz, virtuoso multi-instrumentalist (piano/trumpet), Saúl keeps himself busy performing, composing, arranging, and teaching in the world class musical community of the San Francisco Bay Area.