Neda Samavati is a composer-guitarist based in London, Ontario. She is currently a PhD candidate in Music Composition at the University of Western Ontario, building on her academic background with an MA in Music Composition from Tehran University of Arts.

In 2024, she was selected as an emerging composer for the Widening the Circle at the Tuckamore Music Festival (2024–2025 season) and received the Future Award from the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, 2024. In 2023, she was commissioned by the Northern Tornadoes Project (NTP) to create a new work inspired by scientific data. In 2020, she reached the semi-finals of the 5th Guitar Composition Competition Fidelio in Spain.

Beyond composition, Neda is an active classical guitarist with a strong interest in ensemble performance and colaborative experimentation. She is always seeking out new artistic experiences that challenge and expand her creative voice.

Her music is shaped by a wide range of interests—including physics, astronomy, literature and painting. She continually finds ways to bring these disciplines into her work, whether through structural inspiration, poetic themes, or visual elements.

Recipient of Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Maryam Rahmani is an Iranian born Santur player who has been living in Adelaide since 2019. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Playing Traditional Music from Tehran University. 

Maryam’s musical journey began with playing Santur when she was 12 years old, and she had the chance to get lessons chest to chest from the masters in Iran. The journey took on a more academic approach when she attended university, which gave her the opportunity to explore various aspects of Iranian classical music.

Passionate to discover her hometowns unique sounds, she started to play Kamancheh which is another bowed string instrument form Iran, and also dutar (Persian word for “two strings”), a traditional lute-like instrument known for its resonant sound from Khorasan(North-East side of Iran), that allowed her to unmask the other side of traditional music.

Enthusiastic about the intricate interplay of rhythm and poetry, Maryam’s love for literature and poetry naturally led her to explore Persian meters and their integration into music. During her university years, she delved into the study of tombak (the Iranian goblet drum), enriching her understanding of rhythm. Fascinated by rhythmic patterns, she also embraced the art of flamenco dance when she came to Adelaide, blending the worlds of Persian and Spanish rhythms in her creative pursuits.

Recipient of Frelyn Memorial Endowment.

George Rahi is an artist and composer based in Vancouver, unceded Coast Salish territories. He works with speculative instruments and technologies as a method of exploring acoustic and digital anomalies, modes of listening, and spatial and architectural thinking. His work includes installations, instrument making, solo + ensemble performance, and works for radio, theatre & public spaces. Recent presentations have included: Artificial Sonification exhibition (Matera), Stavanger Konserthus, Kunst-Station Sankt Peter (Cologne), Fusebox Festival (Austin), Institute for New Music (Salzburg), and Orgelpark (Amsterdam). His work has been supported by awards such as the Lab30 Audience Award, Canada Council for the Arts Guest of Honour (Frankfurt), and through mentorships with artists such as Dewa Alit and Trimpin. He has been an artist in residence at Elektronmusikstudion (Stockholm), Bergen Centre for Electronic Arts, Locus Sonus Research Group (Aix Marseille University), and hcma architecture. He is currently working towards a new album of contemporary gamelan music with Insitu Recordings, an arts collective and recording label based in Bali.

Recipient of Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

I am a composer, improviser, vocalist and cellist who grew up in northern China and has studied and worked in the US for seven years. My works span classical, folk, jazz, improvisation, multimedia, poetry, dance, environmental studies, and studies of psychiatry and trauma. I usually found my voice in the ocean of historical gaps, and I aim to create narratives that reveal and reflect on what has been hidden or forgotten by our society.

I have also dedicated myself to environmental activism and education through working with scientists at the White Mountains and NOAA on translating environmental data, sounds from acoustic monitoring devices, and recordings into music and multimedia performances using acoustic and digital instruments. These interdisciplinary collaborations stimulate a more organic musical language that can speak to more diverse audiences and younger generations.

As a performer, I enjoy playing and learning musical traditions such as indigenous and folk music in Southern/Southwestern China, Kabuki Theater, African drum and dance, jazz and improvisation, and more. I have played with musicians from North and South America, West Africa, Asia, and Europe and embraced the energy, rhythms, and history of diverse countries and cultures, which constantly nurtures my intellectual and emotional strength.

Recipient of Walter and Estelle Painter Endowment.

Ekaterina is a versatile singer, composer, and multi-instrumentalist skilled in percussion, guitar, zhaleika, and recorder. Her voice ranges from Eastern European ritual singing to Western classical and contemporary alternative genres. A York University BFA Honours graduate, she explored Balkan, East Slavic, and Near Eastern music, which shapes her work with ensembles like Blisk, Polky, and Meden Glas.

She’s performed at major festivals including Winnipeg, Calgary, and Canmore Folk Festivals, APAP in New York, Ireland’s "Your Roots Are Showing," and Folk Alliance.

Ekaterina also composes for theatre, film, and animation. Her work appears in Birdbone Theatre’s Broomdance (2024) and films like Motherly (2021), VRDLK (2022), and In the Heat (2023).

Her latest project, Vedmah, blends dark electronic music with folklore and witchcraft traditions, crafting a dystopian sonic world where ancient rituals meet modern metal, mythology, and immersive storytelling.

Recipient of Michael Davies Scholarship Endowment Fund.

Gelareh Pour’s music carries the weight of centuries and the breath of something entirely new. An Iranian-Australian musician, she moves deftly between tradition and innovation, her voice and the sounds of her Persian Kamancheh and Qeychak Alto weaving together the intricate threads of a shared musical heritage and the raw spontaneity of the contemporary. Hers is a music that bridges worlds—not just sonically, but in the profound connections it forges between cultures, stories, and people.

Her journey began in Iran, where she immersed herself in the roots of Persian music, earning a Bachelor’s degree. Years later, in Australia, she expanded her exploration with a Master’s in Ethnomusicology at the University of Melbourne, her thesis, The Lives of Iranian Women Singers in Diaspora, uncovering the quiet power and adaptability of women navigating identity through music.

For over three decades, Gelareh’s career has flourished. From her duo ZÖJ with drummer Brian O’Dwyer to collaborations with leading ensembles, her improvisational brilliance and emotive performances have graced festivals and stages across the globe.

In 2024, she was honoured with the Sidney Myer Creative Fellowship, recognising her singular voice as a performer, composer, and storyteller. 

Through her work, Gelareh opens doors—between cultures, histories, and hearts.

Recipient of Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Based in Montreal/Tio'tia:ke, Mexican-Colombian singer, performer, composer and sound artist Valentina Plata (b. 1997) conjures sound worlds through improvisation and her voice in relation to her field recording practice. Her work explores themes of magical idealism, movement and personal narratives. 

Her passion for collaboration is reflected in her project Vaiu, in the multidisciplinary collective Esse and in her work with composer Sandeep Bhagwati. 

She is currently completing a bachelor's degree in Electroacoustic Studies at Concordia University and is the recipient of the Undergraduate Fellowship Award with LePARC (Milieux Institute).

Recipient of Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Brian O’Dwyer is an Australian-based drummer and composer whose practice focuses on experimentation, improvisation, and sonic exploration. His work challenges conventional drumming by integrating extended techniques, unconventional instruments, and percussive textures to create dynamic, immersive soundscapes. Rooted in both structured composition and free improvisation, his approach prioritises spontaneity and responsiveness, allowing rhythm and sound to evolve organically.

Brian’s practice extends beyond traditional performance, incorporating interdisciplinary collaborations with artists across music, film, theatre, and visual art. He is particularly interested in the intersection of percussion and space, using live performance to engage with acoustics and audience perception. His solo and collaborative projects often explore the physicality of drumming, the relationship between rhythm and movement, and the boundaries between noise and music.

Deeply engaged in the experimental and contemporary music communities, Brian’s work reflects an ongoing commitment to pushing the limits of percussive expression. Whether through live performance, recording, or composition, his practice remains centred on the constant redefinition of what drumming can be, embracing both traditional and unconventional sounds in the pursuit of new musical possibilities.

Recipient of Banff Centre Artists' Awards.