She then attended the Music Conservatory in San Juan majoring in classical flute under the mentorship of Peter Kern.

She has been involved mostly in contemporary worship music through her Christian churches, most recently at Southpoint Community Church in Jacksonville, Florida.

In her spare time Nelly is also an academic physician (MD), educator and clinical researcher specializing in Pediatric Endocrinology & Metabolism at the Nemours Children’s Clinic (www.Nemours.org) where she is the section head. Her schedule is busy, however, music is her passion and joy, leading her to work on her first contemporary Jazz CD, Traffic Jams (www.TrafficJamsCD.com) in collaboration with Kurt Hawthorne.

“For me Traffic Jams began simply as a fun project with Kurt Hawthorne, this amazing musician who at the time was the bandleader at my church. We began meeting at his garage studio recording, improvising, jamming. We painstakingly began picking known pieces and making fresh new arrangements, with new chording, new runs, transitions and endings. Other songs were Kurt’s own creations. My Puerto Rican Latin roots and Kurt’s own exposure growing up to the melting pot of south Florida music gave us perhaps a slightly different notion of rhythm, so we “Latinized” common worship songs. The project was a tremendous amount of work and a great deal of fun. We offer it as a way for the tired to chill, the stressed out to unwind, and the spiritually hungry to just let go and worship. Hope you enjoy it! …nelly”

Kurt Hawthorne was born & primarily raised in South Florida where early on he studied saxophone under the mentorship of Dr. Gary Keller of the University of Miami. He graduated with honors from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville in 1997 as a performance major from the Jazz Studies Department with emphasis in arranging & improvisation. He began studying piano at 8 & soon thereafter picked up saxophone & bass guitar. Though spending most of his life in the role of a ‘band leader’, he recently begin utilizing voice in his position as the point worship leader & music pastor at Southpoint Community Church in Jacksonville. He is also an active recording studio producer.

Kurt has performed & recorded with a great variety of artists, including: The Passion Band, Israel Houghton, Darlene Zschech, Bob Carlyle, Nathan & Christy Nockels, Don Potter, Paul Wilbur, Lenny LeBlanc, Ron Kenoly, Big Daddy Weave’s (Mike Weaver), Tommy Simms, Lindell Cooley, Marty Nystrom, Billy Funk, Phil Driscol, Vasser Clemmons, Gary Oliver, Sion Alford, Kevin Singleton, Tina Keil, David Baroni, Jon Owens, Andy Park, Norm Strauss, Rita Springer, Graham Ord, Rusty Nelson, Karen Wheaton, Leonard Jones and many others.

This smooth jazz CD, ‘Traffic Jams’, represents the fulfillment of a lifelong dream & exists to mirror some deep realities for Kurt - “The road of life is one of uncertain horizons. Well-calculated courses can quickly find delays, detours & setbacks with every turn. Though trials are common to all, our ability to face obstacles & keep moving becomes essential in reaching our destinations. For me, acknowledging this reality as sovereign…facing fear as it comes… & deeply embracing the lessons embedded in failure, keep producing more adventure out of every moment than I thought possible.” Kurt Hawthorne

Utilizing smooth jazz sounds, I teamed up with the skillful Nelly Mauras to record these songs - with hopes to lace the ongoing tensions of life with an infusion of hope & deep purpose for the journey.

The ‘Traffic Jams’ of life are destined to meet us with incredible insensitivity & for sure… with certain regularity. When they slow us down, when they stop us… can we find the melodies, the harmonies… the rhythms & choruses amidst the roar? It is our hope that you can”…Kurt.

Track Listing :-

1. Glorious, 2. Traffic Jams, 3. Hideaway, 4. How Great Thou Aart, 5. Invention, 6. J Song,
7. Secret Language, 8. Darrangement, 9. Amazing Grace, 10. Latin Praise.

CD available from Website :- trafficjamscd.com/order.aspx

Website :- Website | Nelly @ MySpace | Kurt @ MySpace