Artist, composer, writer, musician, performer, bass player, Gabriela Laconsay is all that and more.  Originally from Calgary, Alberta, Gabriela grew up studying classical double bass, playing in the local youth orchestra and big bands. During her high school years she was enrolled in a classical performance academy with Mount Royal University where she learned recital etiquette and stage presence. Through her time there she received honours in her grade 10 Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) exam. Gabriela also played in big bands and jazz combos, developing her jazz language and improvisational skills. The Calgary music scene was a very nurturing musical environment for her and provided many performance opportunities with big jazz names like: Ted Nash, Luis Bonilla and Dick Oatts. Now in Toronto with her Bachelor of Music degree from Humber College, Gabriela has grown her arsenal of skills to reach a wide array of genres such as, indie rock, punk rock, funk, fusion, country, pop and more. Prolific performer, Gabriela has extensive experience as a bass player for hire; recording for a diverse list of artists and touring all over Canada and the UK. Known for her engaging performance style, Gabriela Laconsay is one to remember! 

Gabriela Laconsay was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Florence Beauquier-Léger is an alto and soprano saxophonist and composer from Montréal. Throughout her undergraduate degree at McGill’s Schulich School of Music, she has had the privilege to study with musical legends such as Camille Thurman, Christine Jensen, Marianne Trudel, and Philippe Côté. Her primary project, the Florence Beauquier-Léger Quartet, has performed in some of Montréal’s most iconic venues, Upstairs Jazz Bar and Casa del Popolo, and at the Rimouski Festijazz. She has also performed as a sideperson in major festivals such as the Festival International de Jazz de Montréal , Osheaga, Francofolies, and Festival d’été de Québec. She writes with sensitivity inspired from life events and different works of art and likes to include free improvisation sections in her compositions as a way to connect on a deeper level with her fellow musicians and add another level of spontaneity to performances. 

Florence Beauquier-Léger was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Flora Carbo is a saxophonist, composer and music leader from Naarm (Melbourne, Australia). Her unique practice creates novel musical environments that connect people through improvisation, composition and conceptual works, led by her explorations into the vocal qualities of the alto saxophone.

Her work traverses settings, methods and scales, with works devised for major festival stages at Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Canberra International Music Festival, Phoenix Central Park’s Strata Festival, Amersfoort Jazz Festival, and alongside luminaries of Australian jazz and improvised music like Andrea Keller, Helen Svoboda and Harry James Angus. 

Flora’s recorded projects are acclaimed documents of moments in this scene. Her albums are MAGNIFY (2023); Arthur’s Walks (2022); VOICE (2020); and Erica (2018). 

Flora was the Melbourne International Jazz Festival’s Take Note Leader for 2022. She was a finalist for the Freedman Jazz Fellowships 2022 and 2021; for the Young Australian Jazz Artist of the Year at the 2019 Australian Jazz Bell Awards; and for the 2016 National Jazz Award; and won the James Morrison Scholarship at the Generations in Jazz Festival in 2017.

Flora Carbo was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Photo credit: Celeste De Clario Davics

Filippo Deorsola (they/them) is an Italian pianist and composer based in Brussels. With a multidisciplinary background spanning music (BA) and Philosophy (MA), their practice is a hybrid encompassing group and solo projects, article publications and composing for diverse setups including chamber ensemble, Javanese Gamelan instruments and smaller electroacoustic line-ups.

Increasingly centered on a rhythmical and conceptual investigation of wood-based piano preparation, the resulting space of expression is kaleidoscopic, yet remains grounded through programmatic experimentation. These take multiple shapes, with one of them being their long-standing piano trio project, Anaphora. Releasing a first album for Auand Records (IT) in 2022, the group’s latest work, [Bloom], mixes jazz with textural and percussive influences from Balinese Gamelan and released on January 2025 for Swedish label Loumi Records.

A multi-awarded artist in solo (Best instrumentalist, Tremplin Jazz d’Avignon 2024) and with Anaphora (Burghausen Nachwuchs-Jazzpreis 2025, Jazz Migration 2025, Keep an Eye 2024, Goethe-Culture Moves Europe 2023, VGC 2023, Italy Music Export 2022) , Filippo has accumulated a variety of experiences both as project leader, composer and side-musician (Domen Cizej Duo with Clean Feed records). They are co-leading EMBAT, an international collaborative project between the gamelan ensemble Sandikala and Anaphora. Supported by Maison de la Musique Contemporaine. 

Filippo Deorsola was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Dhaivat Jani is a Toronto-based, award-winning drummer, tabla player, and composer from Ahmedabad, India. He began his musical journey at age five, focusing on Indian classical music, and achieved his tabla Visharad at 16, earning three gold medals. A Humber College graduate with a Bachelor of Music, Dhaivat has called Toronto home since 2018. 

In 2023, Dhaivat released his debut album Sum // Parts with his contemporary jazz ensemble, Dhaivat Jani PLUS, earning acclaim from outlets like All About Jazz, Paris Move, and Jazz.FM91. Beyond leading his ensemble, he collaborates widely, moving fluidly between drums and tabla across a range of genres. His recent work includes performances with Pat LaBarbera, Hamid Motebassem, Kiran Ahluwalia, Roberto Occhipinti, Rez Abbasi, Mike Downes, and Adam Rudolph. 

Dhaivat’s creativity extends to multimedia collaborations such as Transmigrations with software artist Ryan Kelln, and Offerings at Ishpadinaa with Nova Dance. His accolades include the Nuit Blanche and Aga Khan Museum Fellowships, along with awards from the Government of India, Yamaha Music Canada, and Jazz.FM91. 

Dhaivat’s vision is to push creative boundaries, blending art forms while keeping music at the heart of his work. 

Dhaivat Jani was generously supported by the Denis Jackson Memorial Scholarship Endowment. 

Derek Lewis is a pianist, composer, and educator based in New York City.  Growing up in Buffalo NY, he was exposed to jazz music from an early age by his father and brother, who are musicians as well.  Despite not initially taking to an instrument, he fell in love with the piano at the age of 15, and chose to pursue music from then on.  He is a graduate of The New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, and will be attending Manhattan School of Music this Fall pursuing a Masters in Music.  He believes strongly in the healing power of music, and in its ability to help people learn more about themselves and others.

Derek Lewis was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Hailing from Brooklyn, Declan Sheehy-Moss is a multi-instrumentalist and composer who artfully blends genres to craft an incendiary fusion of sound. Studying Jazz Performance at New  England Conservatory and Studio Production at SUNY Purchase, his adeptness with digital production and recording techniques, coupled with his instrumental virtuosity, yields a unique digital-acoustic amalgamation.  

Declan’s performances have graced venues like Monterey Jazz Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, Symphony Space, and The Jazz Gallery. He was also a 2023 recipient of the Composers Now IMPACT Award. He’s released 9 singles and 3 EPs since 2017 and has collaborated with diverse artists from Henry Threadgill to emerging talents like Mavi and Cisco Swank. 

Co-leading the band “More Better” for nearly 8 years, they’ve released two albums, and performed at venues like The Jazz Gallery and JCAL. He’s made his mark as an Audio Engineer at The Jazz Gallery and BRAC, handling sound for artists like Immanuel Wilkins, Sullivan Fortner, Jason Moran, Roscoe Mitchell, and many more. 

Declan also works side-by-side with Henry Threadgill, assuming a multifaceted role handling audio engineering, EWI/Saxophone, and additional odds and ends for Mr. Threadgill. Declan has worked intimately on projects “One”, “The Other One”, “BOTH”,  and “Listen Ship”. 

Declan Sheehy-Moss was generously supported by the Denis Jackson Memorial Scholarship Endowment. 

Daniel is a guitarist, improvisor and composer whose work encompasses jazz, free improvisation and electronic music. Whilst he began his career as an astute student of jazz, his affinity for experimentation and freedom has led him to broadening his sonic palette and embrace unorthodox approaches to music making. Daniel completed his bachelor’s degree with Honours at Melbourne University and has studied and recorded in New York and Italy, taking lessons with Tony Malaby, Jay Anderson, Gilad Hekselman and more. Daniels work explores extended technique combined with effects pedal manipulation to create unique sound worlds that extend the typical capabilities of guitar playing. His passion for cultivating unique ensemble identities and his constant search for deeper musical meaning has led him to develop a very distinctive and personal musical voice. 

Daniel is currently performing regularly across Melbourne’s experimental/jazz scene as well as recording on a variety of different musical projects. His debut release Jawbone Arboretum is an experimental record released through Brisbane record label Made Now Music and is currently being toured across Australia. 

Daniel Waddingham was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artist Awards. 

Álvar Llusá-Damiani (Buenos Aires, 1991) is an Argentinean/Spanish eclectic violinist, singer, guitarist and composer.

Graduated in 2016 as a Professor of Music and Violin from the Escuela Municipal de Bellas Artes "Carlos Morel" from Quilmes. He was awarded a grant by the National Fund for the Arts of Argentina to participate in the III Argentine Meeting of Improvisation and Musical Composition. Then he received a scholarship from the Fundació de Música Ferrer-Salat to pursue a higher degree in composition at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu, in Barcelona, degree that he has finished with honours in 2021.

Has a prolific career in classical and modern music, having played in different orchestras and groups from genres such as contemporary music, jazz, tango and progressive rock. Has collaborated as a sessionist with several artists -including Manu Chao- and worked in music for theater, TV and cinema.

Has released the albums ‘Sciophobia’ (2021), ‘The Locked Room’, ‘En Vivo CC Fylgja’ (2022), ‘Nothing Is Not A Flower’ (2023), ‘Más o Menos a Full’ (2024), ‘Isekai: historia de un secuestro’ and ‘A la Distancia’ (2025), among others. He is currently working on his debut album as a singer/songwriter.

Álvar Llusá-Damiani was generously supported by the Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists' Scholarship.

Alexandre Roux-Dufort stands out in Montreal as a rising talent in saxophone, composition, and arrangement. In 2023, he made his mark on the international stage by winning first place in the Léopold Bellan International Competition in Paris. Alexandre has been lauded as a “saxophonist and composer who has the wind in his sails” (ULaval Nouvelles). 

Raised in France, Alexandre has performed at festivals in Europe and Canada (Cap Ferret Music Festival, Québec Jazz en Juin) and collaborated with renowned artists such as the Lost Fingers, clarinetist Virginia MacDonald and pianist Rafael Zaldivar. As a saxophonist and arranger, he also works with the Montrealbased producer Teuteu, the gypsy jazz Delasalle Trio, and the gender-inclusive big band Jazz Coven. 

His playing experiences have shaped a distinctive approach to composition. Alexandre strives to create a sensitive and personal musical universe by exploring soundscapes that straddle the line between jazz and impressionism. The stylistic hybridization results in music that is streamlined, calm, and colorful. With Yannick Anctil on piano, Alex Le Blanc on bass, and Guillaume Pilote on drums, his quartet released its debut single titled Small Place in early 2024. 

Alexandre Roux-Dufort was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.