BEFORE THE SHOW has become a hit for State of the Arts NYC. Just an hour before we have conversation, refreshments and if weather permitting, a rooftop experience with guests, staff and friends. This week we had Axel Tosca, Lezi Zita, Justin Kalifowitz and Sandra Levinson.

Our show theme was Cuba Bound and More. Axel Tosca was born and raised in Cuba. His parents influenced his music and now he is debuting his first solo album in NYC at National Sawdust in Williamsburg. National Sawdust is a new partner of State of the Arts. And we had Justin Kalifowitz, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Downtown Music Publishing, a global music rights management business with offices in New York, Amsterdam, London, Los Angeles and Nashville. Justin is also Co-Founder of New York Is Music, a coalition dedicated to developing the music industry in New York.

Sandra Levinson is the Executive Director of the Center for Cuban Studies in NY. Now, that relations have been normalized between the United States and Cuba, Americans are thirsty for information about the history, culture and ART in Cuba. Sandra has led many tours in Cuba visiting artist studios and organizing exhibitions sharing the magic from that island. And we rounded our segment with Lezi Zita, self-taught jewelry designer of South African birth. Lezi was inspired by her father and she studied engineering before switching to design which offered her more freedom and flexibility. Architecture is a strong focus in her work.

Listen to the mini interviews. Our engineer Matt Cutler helped with the logistics and our production assistant Katherine Gonzalez helped with the photos.