A native of Mexico City, Andrea Puente graduated from the National Conservatory of Music in 1983. During the next two years she did graduate work at the Victoria Conservatory of Music and at the University of Victoria in British Columbia, Canada, with Taka Kling. Ms Puente was awarded the British Columbia Grant for Best Performing Art Student. In 1987 the Polish Government awarded her a Post-graduate Fellowship at the Chopin Academy, where she completed her studies under the direction of Ursula Mazurek.

In 1990 she won the position of Principal Harp of the Jalisco Philharmonic, in Mexico. In 1992 she won a scholarship for the Nicanor Zabaleta World Masterclass in Spain. A year later she won the post of Principal Harp in the Orquesta Ciudad de Malaga, Spain, where she performed frequently as soloist in concerts with the Jupiter Quartet throughout the Iberian Peninsula.

In 1994 she joined the faculty of the National Conservatory of Mexico and became the harpist of the Carlos Chavez Symphony Orchestra in Mexico City. In 1998 she was Visiting Professor of Harp at the Victoria Conservatory of Music in British Columbia, where she also gave a series of concerts.

In 1999 Ms Puente, became Principal Harp of the Orquesta del Teatro de Bellas Artes, Mexico's National Orchestra for all opera and ballet productions.

Ms Puente holds a Master's Degree in Music. She graduated with Honors. She also performs with orchestras in Los Angeles area such as Pacific Symphony, New West Symphony, Glendale Symphony, Riverside Symphony, Bakersfield Symphony, etc. She is principal harpist of the Baja California Orchestra in Tijuana, an ensemble that recently made its successful debut at Alice Tully Hall in New York.

She is an active chamber music player with the harp and flute duo Arpa y Aulos with flutist Salpi Kerkonian . Ms Puente lives in Los Angeles, California.

A native of Chicago Illinois of Armenian descent, Salpy Kerkonian was raised in Los Angeles where she won first place in fourteen solo competitions: Young Musicians Foundation, L.A. Philharmonic Association, Healy-Hartshorn-Hutton Foundation, Glendale Symphony Association, Parent and Teachers Association, Etude Music Club, and the Lucille McKinstrey Foundation which featured Ms. Kerkonian as soloist on the PBS T.V. special "Musicians for Tomorrow" hosted by Lynn Redgrave and Charles Champlin.

Ms Kerkonian holds a Bachelor Degree and a Master's Degree in Music. She graduated with honors from the University of Southern California. During her years at USC, she received the "Outstanding Performer of Chamber Music Award" and won first place in the "USC Concerto Competition" for her interpretation of Mozart's G Major Flute Concerto, under Daniel Lewis's baton. Ms Kerkonian was also the winner of two International Chamber Music competitions: the coveted Coleman and Carmel.

As a symphonic flutist, Ms Kekronian was Principal Flute of both the American Youth Symphony, conducted by Mehli Mehta, and the YMF Debut Orchestra, conducted by Lalo Schifrin, where she was featured as soloist in J. Ibert's Concerto for Flute at UCLA's Royce Hall.

Lalo Schefrin invited Ms Kerkonian to solo with the members of the L.A. Philharmonic for a CD recording of Saint-Saens "Carnival of the Animals" featuring narration by Charlton Heston, James Earl Jones and Audrey Hepburn. Ms Kerkonian has performed on thirty TV and movie soundtracks for composers such as Lalo Schifrin and Lee Holdridge. Most recently she performed with singer Andrea Bocelli on "The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson" for CBS.

Presently, Ms Kerkonian is a tenure member of the Glendale Symphony. In that capacity she has performed three times with Luciano Pavarotti and The Three Tenors, and as soloist with opera singer Sumi Jo. Ms Kerkonian is a founding member of the harp and flute duo Arpa y Aulos.