Lindsey Schust (percussion and composition) graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Music from Brandeis University and an M.A. in Music Composition from Tufts University. Since then she has studied with African and Afro-Caribbean master drummers from Mali, Nigeria, Guinea, Senegal, Ghana, Trinidad, Haiti, and Cuba, as well as composition with award-winning composers David Rakowski, Yehudi Wyner, and John McDonald. In 2006 Lindsey won the Global Rhythm songwriting competition for her Afro-Cuban song “Café Con Leche” and in 2009 was nominated for a Just Plain Folks Independent Music Award for Best Caribbean Song for her piece “Mama Lele.”