Sasha Zamler-Carhart (1975) was born in France, spent his formative years in California, then studied composition in England and Holland.

In an earlier professional life he obtained a masters in linguistics from Stanford and a law degree from Stanford Law School, briefly managed a small venture capital fund and worked as a lawyer for the firm of Baker & McKenzie. This motley background is reflected in his music, which is equally hefty and kooky.

He has studied with various living composers, but his real teachers have been Machaut and Rameau. Much of his inspiration is drawn from his research into traditional folk music and Western early music. He has done ethno-musicological field research in Cameroon, Gabon and Madagascar, and authored critical editions and translations of 14th- and 15th-century poetic and musical works.

He taught medieval music performance and Latin at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague (Netherlands) for five years. He is also the founder and director of The Ascoli Ensemble, a vocal ensemble specialized in early polyphony.

At EMS he has worked together with Sweden based composer Jeremiah Runnels.