Evry Mann, M.A. is a percussionist, composer and writer who holds masters degrees in religious studies and in music composition. Founder of the Center for Creative Education — a non-profit cultural center in Stone Ridge, New York — he was an artist in residence with the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes in Mexico for six years, performing throughout the country. Ev has led over 50 trips to Cuba to study music, dance, and visual art, and authored the section on Music and Nightlife in Havana for the “Time Out” Guidebook. He has also studied traditional African music in Mali and Senegal and worked extensively with the Ballet Folklorico Cutumba of Santiago de Cuba.