Alex Roitman Tango Ensemble (ARTE) is a group performing exciting authentic Argentine Tango music, for both dancers and listeners. Combining strong classical skills with the extensive tango style training and individual musicality, this ensemble brings the flavor of Buenos Aires to sophisticated audiences in the US and Canada.

The group is led by Alex Roitman, a bandoneonist disciple of Hector Del Curto. While living on the West Coast, Alex performed in San Francisco with his previous group Tangonero. Mr. Roitman is a member of a Stowe Tango Music Festival tango orchestra, and a silver medalist of the 2022 Che Bandoneon International Competition (also a bronze medalists of 2018 and 2019). He shared the stage with legendary tango musicians as Victor Lavallen, Horacio Cabarcos, Pablo Estigarribia, Jose Colangelo, Pablo Agri, Nicolas Ledesma, Humberto Ridolfi, Julio Pane and Nestor Marconi, as well as the members of Héctor Del Curto's quintet. In addition to his bandoneon work, Mr. Roitman has composed several tango pieces, made original arrangements and continues to work on transcribing and arranging great tango music of the past. In the fall of 2020, he relocated to the East Coast, and currently splits his time between ARTE New England and Boston Tango Orchestra in the summers and his Florida-based Alex Roitman Tango Ensemble in the winters.

Born in Chiba, Japan, McGill Bachelor graduated pianist, Mayu Funaba began her music studies at age 4. She has studied classical piano under Ms. Aki Kuroda, Ms. Kaoru Ujita, and Mr. Nikita Juzhanin, and jazz piano under Jeffry Johnston and Min Rager, also Tango piano under Pablo Estigarribia. Mayu graduated from the music program at Toride Shoyo High School in Japan, the music production program at the Academy of Contemporary Music in the United Kingdom, and earned a distinction from the Associated Board of the Royal College of Music in 2010. She also attended a master class at the University of Music in Stuttgart through a scholarship from the International Association of Tokyo Artists. In 2013, Mayu composed music for the audio-visual installation exhibition “Stake in the river" at the Nakanogo Biennale 2013 in collaboration with Junichi Akagawa and Yuki Shindo. Since 2019, she has been participating as a pianist in the Stowe Tango Festival Orchestra. In 2020, funded by the Canada Council for the Arts, she gave a virtual concert at the world premiere of new compositions by Robert Hasegawa and Joel Toews in collaboration with Sahara von Hattenburger (cello). Her duo with Sahara was also nominated for the final of the first Concorso Internazionale di Bandoneón e Musica d'insieme "Astor Piazzolla – Città di Trani 2021." Currently, she is performing and participating recording session based in Montreal where she also works as a ballet pianist in L’école supérieur de ballet du Quebec.

Violinist Nayiri Piloyan studied violin under Claude Richard at the University of Montreal. She has participated in numerous music festivals across North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. Nayiri is an in-demand chamber music partner. Her experience includes serving as the principal violinist of Sinfonia de Montréal, the Imperial Chamber Orchestra, the Montreal Pop Symphony Orchestra, the Serenade ensemble, the first violinist of the Quatuor Renaissance, the violist of the Quatuor Rhapsodie, the violist of the tango group Che Tangazo, the tango-jazz group Rewild, as well as a freelance violinist and violist with the National Jazz Orchestra of Montreal, the Graz Festival Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestras of Sherbrooke, Drummondville, and Longueuil, the OPNM, and the Montreal Chamber Orchestra. She has shared the stage with several renowned artists such as Michael Bublé, Barry Manilow, Luce Dufault, Mario Pelchat, Richard Abel, Alain Lefebvre, Al Martino, Richard Séguin, and Marie-Michèle Desrosiers, and has contributed to various soundtracks and albums. In addition to her music career, Nayiri works as an electrical engineer. She holds a Bachelor's degree and a DESS in engineering from the École Polytechnique de Montréal, as well as a certificate in leadership from the Yale School of Management.

It was tango music that led bassist Carlos Maldonado Cisneros to develop his musical skills and to study orchestra double bass at the School of Music in Mexico City. He later graduated with a master’s degree from the jazz composition and performance program at the Schulich School of Music, McGill University. Carlos has performed with L’Orchestre Symphonique de l’Isle, La Symphonie de la Virée (featuring Rafael Payare) and he collaborates with Cuong-Vu, Christine Jensen, Greg Cohen, Ben Wendel, Jean-Michel Pilc, and Michel Lambert. He has performed in the following festivals: Novi Sad Jazz Fest, Serbia; Montreal International Jazz Festival; Mood Indigo Music Festival, Mumbai, India; Glatt & Verkehrt Music Festival, Krems, Austria; Music Marathon & Film Festival CMJ, NY City; Ibero-American Festival of Musical Culture-Vive Latino, Mexico City. Founding member of several ensembles in Mexico and Canada such as Los Dorados, Malcisne, Chocolate Smoke Gang and LeJager. He has obtained recognition and awards from the following during the course of his career: the National System of Art Creators SNCA 2023; Program scholarship for artists, from the Council of Arts and Letters of Québec, Canada, 2021; Arts Abroad, Council of Arts of Canada 2019; Young Creators, National Fund for Culture and the Arts FONCA 2013; Best Experimental Album, Indie-O Music Awards 2009; Young Creators, State Fund for Culture, and the Arts FECAC 2002.