Karenautas' 14-member lineup includes 11 string players -- violinists Delfina Zorraquín (co-musical director and principal composer), Demian Luaces (co-musical director), Lucia Christe, Andrea Rosenfeld, and Luis Alberto Ramirez; cellists Lucas Argomedo, Manuela Weller, Paula Taboadela, and Sebastián Parada; and contrabassists Mariana Borghi and Juan Huici -- along with vocalist Melina Moguilevsky, clarinetist Martín Rur, and drummer/percussionist Rodrigo Quirós. The ensemble draws influence from classical repertoire as well as a host of other influences including folk, jazz, and rock, the results ranging from high-spirited and quirky to reflective and melancholic.

Karenautas have performed at numerous Buenos Aires venues, and they recorded their debut disc, Recreo, in November 2011 at Estudios Fort. Released the following year, Recreo was dedicated to Luis Alberto Spinetta, a major figure in Argentine rock who died in February 2012, not long after the recording of the album had been completed. A rendition of Spinetta's "Barro Tal Vez," from his 1982 album Kamikaze, was featured among Recreo's 14 tracks; the arrangement by Zorraquín combined the song (sung by Moguilevsky) with Robert Schumann's Intermezzo in E-flat minor, Op. 26. ~ Dave Lynch