The AVI8ORS Ensemble

AVI8ORS Biographies

The Singers

Bob Moser is the Director and Founder of The AVI8ORS Ensemble. He is a commercial pilot, teacher, flight instructor and mechanical engineer by trade and holds (6) US Patents, but music has always been his passion. He is currently teaching Aviation theory at UNO, flying for The LeMay Flight Training Center on Offutt AFB, manages his own flight training school – Heartland Flight and is very active in aviation education. He is also a popular singer, actor and guitarist in the Omaha area. He has performed with many area groups including the Cross Chords Barbershop Quartet, MasterSingers and Voices of Omaha. He appears in local and national television commercials, radio and print advertising. His stage credits include numerous Opera Omaha and Omaha Community Playhouse productions, such as Gypsy, Teddy and Alice, Carousel, My Fair Lady, 110 in the Shade, 8 years in the cast of A Christmas Carol, and other area musical productions. When not directing the AVI8ORS or teaching people how to fly, Bob lives out his passion for the WWII era by flying his own 1941 Piper Cub, which first flew a mere 2 weeks before Pearl Harbor was bombed.

Ardeth Elsberry lends her talents to the group as Artistic Director; rightfully so, since she grew up with the music of the WWII era. Her father’s dance bands played a large part in her appreciation of the era. Music and dance were an ever present influence in Ardeth’s life from childhood into adulthood and she has been a lifelong performer in the Omaha area. She received a BA in Performing Arts from Midland Lutheran College where she first started singing in the style of the Andrews Sisters. You may recognize her talent from numerous television and radio commercials. Her theatre credits include Guys and Dolls, My Fair Lady, South Pacific and she starred as Fiona in Brigadoon. Her experience includes working at both the Firehouse Dinner Theatre and The Upstairs Dinner Theatre. Ardeth has been the vocalist with the big band The Swingtones since 1992 and for many years sang with The MasterSingers. From 1998 through 2005 her musical and dramatic talents were put to use directing Spoudazo, a youth music / drama ministry.

Pam Kragt is a multi-talented performer who has lived in the Omaha area for 16 years. Pam grew up on a farm in northwest Iowa where she caught the bug for singing and acting. She has performed on stage since high school, staring in Carousel, Sound of Music, Cinderella, Oklahoma, Miracle Worker, and You Can’t Take It With You just to name a few. She also starred in the River Valley Players and in several major productions of A Passion Play as Mary Magdeline in Virginia. Pam enjoys performing stand up comedy as the wise and matronly “Grace Fully”. She is a professional wedding floral designer, soloist, pianist, wife and mother of two great kids. She enjoys her “day job” working as an administrative assistant at West Hills Church in Omaha.

Diane Thomas began her singing career at the early age of ten. She, and her twin sister Karen, began singing together at county fairs and local churches, and continued on into their college years. While at Peru State, Diane and Karen entered a collegiate talent competition where they ultimately earned a 4^th place finish nationally. This honor took them on to Nashville and a contemporary Christian music recording contract as Double Image. Diane has been an elementary school teacher for 23 years, she now teaches as an Adjunct professor for both Peru State College and Metro Community College. Diane also keeps busy singing professionally at weddings as well as local charity events and more. You can often hear Diane on the Desert Ministries Radio Hour heard each Saturday from 2 – 3 pm on KCRO radio. Her most recent endeavor has been the opening of a Bed and Breakfast in Nebraska City. You can visit her and John at Cassel Grove Homestead Inn.

The Trio and “Mr. Sound Man”

Tim Tyler plays keyboards for the group and has been a commercial keyboard player for 30 years. His experience includes 22 years in the Air Force Band with assignments in Alaska, Japan, the Philippines and Southwest Asia. He has played for Presidents, Vice-Presidents, kings and princes. He retired from the Air Force in 1997 and currently works as a commercial keyboard player, orchestrator, arranger and music transcriber. In the fall of 2000, he began working as the accompanist for the South Sarpy District 46 vocal music department.

Jerry DeVore has been a professional musician for over ten years.Recently, Jerry performed on the national tour of Rodgers' and Hammerstein's South Pacific with Robert Goulet, and Cinderella with Eartha Kitt.He has also performed with notable jazz artists, such as Wynton Marsalis (accomplished classical and jazz trumpet player), Frank Mantooth (Grammy award winning jazz composer and pianist), and Byron Stripling. Jerry began as the AVI8ORS bassist in 2003.

Carlos C. Figueroa is a retired United States Air Force Band percussionist. During his 23 year Air Force career, Carlos performed over 2300 concerts with five Air Force bands throughout 32 countries for audiences totaling over 5.5 million. He currently performs over 275 concerts a year as a free lance percussionist in the Omaha area and throughout the Midwestern United States. As an artist/faculty member at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Carlos teaches drum set and acts as a consultant for the jazz program. As a Nebraska Arts Council (NAC) Artist, Carlos conducts workshops and clinics throughout the state of Nebraska. Carlos completed his bachelor’s degree in music at UNO in May 2006

Doug Penington is an audio engineer whose career began at Sound Recorders recording studio in Omaha, NE. After a number of years recording albums, commercials, and live sound production, he added a nursing/nurse practitioner career to the mix. He believes that both recording and live entities have significant similarities and distinct differences and enjoys both. Currently, he is the House Audio Engineer and Technical Coordinator at Westside Church in Omaha. In addition to the Avi8ors, he continues to pursue additional freelance audio engineering projects, projection/media system design and audio consulting.