Yuri Productions

Listed in the order of participating in the label's projects...

Kenton Lee -- piano, vocals, arrangements; composer and conductor -- (project of 2005)
Yuri Mamchur -- piano, keyboards, arrangements; composer and producer -- (projects of 2001, 2005, 2009)
John Mitchell -- guitar, vocals, arrangements; composer and producer -- (project of 2009)
John Jowitt -- bass -- (project of 2009)

Kenton Lee began his music studies at the age of five in Minnesota. After one year of college he fell in love and married Benita Werner, his wife of more than 33 years, who is also a pianist. They relocated to California, where they pursued further experiences in church music, studio work and education. Following his graduation from San Diego State University as Music major, Kenton was invited to become the Minister of Music at Life Center in Tacoma, WA. He and Benita have served there since 1981.

Kenton gives weekly direction to the music of Life Center, including the
very popular Singing Christmas Tree. He and Benita have raised four very musical children who are successful, practicing musicians. Kenton also holds
a Masters in Worship Studies from Liberty University Seminary. He is a published arranger, composer, singer, and as “In the Harbor” displays, an accomplished pianist as well.

Yuri Mamchur, the founder of Yuri Productions, LLC, has spent over a decade in Russia, Western Europe, and the United States of America. Yuri received classical music training in Piano and Music Theory in Moscow, Russia (1996), and produced two personal profitable albums: a techno/new-age project in Kiev, Ukraine (2001) and a solo-piano album in Seattle, Washington (2005). In late 90-s and early 2000-s Yuri represented a Kiev-based music corporation in Moscow, dealing with copyright contracts and distribution.

Yuri--who DJ-ed in his teenage years and early 20-s in Moscow--was originally brought to the Pacific Northwest by a student exchange program in 2000. Since then, he has received public policy education from the Georgetown University and worked for multiple American-based companies. Yuri's diverse background allows him to appreciate and deeply understand American and European cultures, music markets, and business practices.

In addition to his music industry accomplishments, Yuri holds a European law degree summa cum laude (2003) and concentrated his legal thesis studies in international copyright laws. Currently, Yuri is a member of the full-time MBA Class 2011 at Vanderbilt University's Owen Graduate School of Management in Nashville, TN. Yuri founded and leads the Discovery Institute's Real Russia Project, where he has raised funds towards the program's operations and long-term development and grew the readership of the project's Russia Blog website from zero to five million visitors a year. In his Russia-related work, Yuri has served as an advisor to multiple government agencies and consulted with multi-national businesses in areas of Russian investments, natural resources, and strategy.

Yuri is an avid piano player, active composer with over 100 composed songs, and an accomplished producer with in-depth knowledge of music production both in the studio and on the stage.

John Mitchell: "I started playing piano when I was 6, because my mom said I should", says John. "When I was about 13 I saw Eric Clapton on TV and I just thought that was really cool...well, and I thought, wow, I wanna play the guitar".

At 17, John recorded with Annie Lennox. Later, in 1997, he joined the highly acclaimed progressive rock outfit Arena.

In 2002, he started playing for Asia's John Wetton, and did an amazing guitar work on "Rock of Faith" album as well as on the tour.

In 2004, John teamed up with Pete Trewavas (bass player from Marillion), John Beck (the keyboard player from It Bites), and Chris Maitland (drummer from Porcupine Tree) to create the band KINO.

KINO's debut album "Picture" was released in February 2005. The album was met with enthusiasm by international audience, and received positive recognition from the music press. The band has played multiple gigs across Europe and America, performing both, on its own tours, and as a support band for the 2005 European tour of Spock's Beard. After the performance at the Calprog festival in Los Angeles on 12th July 2006, KINO announced that recording of their second album was on hold, while Pete Trewavas worked with Marillion.

After months of silence but continued interest from the fans, John, being a huge fan of It Bites since his teenage years, was invited to take over the band's lead role. The new It Bites are now in the process of writing and recording songs for a new album.

In 2006, Classic Rock Society awarded John as "Best Guitarist of the Year."

John also leads his own band, The Urbane. Their first album "Neon" received positive critical acclaims upon its release in 1999. The band's second project "Glitter", released in 2004, has also done very well. The Urbane has supported a number of well-known musicians in concerts throughout the UK and Europe. The band has played with Marillion, Kings X, Steve Hogarth, Bowes & Morley (Thunder), and Asia. At the moment, The Urbane is working on the new album "Straylight".

John runs his own recording studio in Reading. With decades of production experience under his belt, John has worked with some of the best in the industry, including such acclaimed rock artists as Deep Purple. Over the years, the Outhouse Studios has served a great number of classic and modern-day bands, including Funeral For A Friend. Enter Shikari mixed and produced their gold-selling debut album at the Outhouse Studios.

Many believe that John’s mastership in guitar will put him down in history as one of the best.

John Jowitt is a bass guitarist known for his work with UK progressive bands IQ, Jadis, Arena, and Frost. He has been awarded the British Classic Rock Society's award for the Best Bass Player nine times, each year from 1993 to 1998, and again, from 2002 to 2004.