Benedicte Maurseth is a well-established and esteemed performer and composer on Norway’s music scene. She has studied with Hardanger fiddle master Knut Hamre for close to thirty years and is an alumna of the Ole Bull Academy. Maurseth has toured extensively as a soloist and in collaboration with others, both in Norway and internationally. She works closely with many of the leading artists across genres and artistic expressions such as Jon Fosse, Anne Marit Jacobsen, Rolf Lislevand, Mats Eilertsen, Berit Opheim, Merilyn Crispell, and more. Maurseth has written music for theater and film and other commissioned works for festivals and albums. The work Tidekverv, which was premiered in 2017, was awarded NOPA's music prize, and her song «Very Full», which was specially written for the TV series Loki (Marvel Studio), ranked high on the Billboard list.

Maurseth also received many prestigious artist grants from the Norwegian state for cultivating her tradition and creative work. She has recorded albums for Grappa Musikkforlag (Hubro & Heilo) and ECM Records, and has also published books, articles and essays. Her book To be nothing. Conversations with Knut Hamre, Hardanger Fiddle Master, was published at Terra Nova Press / MIT Press fall 2019.  Her latest album Hárr was awarded «Best Nordic album of the year» and received the prestigious Nordic Music Prize for 2022. In 2022 she also released the book Systerspel (Fiddlesisters) about the history of female fiddle players in Norway from 1700 until today. For this work she was awarded the prize «Folk musician of the year» in 2023 and also received the Sff-award for her outstanding contribution to the history and traditional music of Norway.
 

Kristine Tjøgersen (*1982 in Oslo, Norway)’s compositional practice is characterized by curiosity, imagination, humor and precision. Through her work, she creates unexpected auditory situations through playing with tradition. She has a special interest in the interplay between the visual and the auditory and how they affect each other.

Nature in motion and process is often reflected in her works, and collaboration with researchers and biologists is for her a source of new sound and scenic ideas that allows her to incorporate organic forms into the music.

As Tjøgersen puts it, “By giving nature a voice in the concert hall, I want the audience to get to know valuable forms of life, and to raise awareness of what can be lost if humans continue to change nature.”

She holds an MA in composition from Anton Bruckner Universität in Austria, where she studied with Carola Bauckholt, and an MA in clarinet from the Norwegian Academy of Music, where she studied with Hans Christian Bræin.

Her works have been performed by Ensemble Recherche, Klangforum Wien, Arditti Quartet, Pinquins, SWR and WDR Symphonieorchester, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as at festivals such as ECLAT, Ultraschall, Wien Modern, Tectonics, Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, and Ultima.

In 2019–20, Tjøgersen was a fellow at Akademie der Künste in Berlin, and in 2020 she received Norway’s Arne Nordheim Composer Prize, as well as the Pauline Hall Prize for her orchestra piece Bioluminescence. In 2021, she was awarded “Work of the Year” from the Norwegian Society of Composers for her Piano Concerto. In 2022, she won the International Rostrum of Composers in Palermo, and in 2023 she was the winner of Coup de Coeur des Jeunes Mélomanes from Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco for her orchestra work Between Trees.

kristinetjogersen.no
 

The Pandan Quartet is a dynamic young string quartet based in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music since 2023. They have been the recipients of Flint Initiative, Shansi, and Oberlin Winter Term Grants. The Pandan Quartet was invited to participate in the 2024 Singapore Chamber Music Festival, where they performed to critical acclaim for local audiences, renowned artists, and various international embassies. They are honored to have had the opportunity to pave the way for more academic, musical, and cultural exchanges between East Asia and Oberlin College. Later in 2024, the Pandan Quartet was invited to be the Artists in Residence for the Off The Hook Arts: Music Spoke Concert Series, located in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Working alongside the Dalí Quartet, the Pandan Quartet performed a range of different concerts, including multiple educational and outreach performances for families and children, various donor events to help support the festival, and more formal concerts. The Pandan Quartet was invited to Banff Center for the Winter 2025 Musicians in Residence where they will work with the Kronos Quartet among other renowned artists. Other quartet projects include learning two of the Kronos Quartet’s “50 for the future” pieces and performing in senior care facilities. 

The Pandan Quartet has worked with a host of incredible artists, including Tabbea Zimmerman, the Takacs Quartet, the Dalí Quartet, the AOI trio, the Verona Quartet, Sunny Yang (Kronos Quartet), Kirsten Doctor (Cavani Quartet), Sibbi Bernhardsson (Pacifica Quartet), Bill van der Sloot (Villa Marteau Quintet), Peter Slowik, and Leslie Tan.

The Pandan Quartet is generously supported by the Cyril and Elizabeth Challice Fund for Musicians, and the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Born in the Black Forest, she grew up between Germany, Uganda, and Burkina Faso. She began with violin and piano lessons at the age of 6. In 2008, she started her artistic career in violin at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig and graduated in 2014 with the highest honors. In 2009, she also began Theatre Studies at the University of Leipzig, completing her degree in 2014. 

At the end of 2014, she was hired as a violinist by the Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires where she won a stability position in a competition in 2018. She has been contracted by the Centro de Experimentación del Teatro Colón for various chamber music formats.

Since 2017, she has been a co-founder and concertmaster of the String Orchestra Cuerdas del Plata and is also the composer and director of the string quartet Azabache. With Azabache, she has toured Europe, performing in various venues and festivals, including the Tango Festival in Tarbes (France).

In February 2023, she won the position of tango violin teacher in the advanced cycle at the Escuela de Música Popular Avellaneda (Empa). She conducts tango seminars for string players in Argentina and abroad. 

Katharina Deissler is generously supported by the Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment.

Adriana began her violin studies at the age of 10 with Prof. Santiago de Angulo (Colombia). Subsequently, her teachers included Ricardo Rodríguez, Norberto Minces, José Bondar, and Daniel Robuschi. She participated in violin and chamber music seminars and masterclasses with renowned teachers such as Felix Olschofka, Jack Glatzer, Haydeé Schvartz , Ulla Benz, Catalyst String Quartet, Marmen String Quartet, among others.

Additionally, Adriana took part in the 2018 Santa Catarina Music Festival (Brazil) in the String Quartet program, under the direction of the Arianna String Quartet (United States). She is currently in her final year of the Bachelor's degree in Musical Arts at Universidad Nacional de las Artes. She has worked as a violinist for the Orchestra of the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, and since March 2018, has been a permanent member of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional in the first violin section. Since 2017, Adriana has been a member of the Cuarteto Arkhé, performing in various venues in Buenos Aires, including Templo Libertad, Usina del Arte, and Salón de Honor (Centro Cultural Kirchner), among others. Internationally, she has performed at the Teatro del Sodre (Uruguay) and Teatro Pequenho (Santa Catarina).

Adriana Miranda Torrico is generously supported by the Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists Scholarship.

Esteban began his music education at the Municipal School of Music of Olavarría and the Ernesto Mogávero Municipal Conservatory. At 18, he moved to Buenos Aires to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Composition at the Faculty of Arts and Musical Sciences at the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA), where he was awarded a scholarship for academic excellence. Simultaneously, he studied composition under the guidance of Julio Viera and Julián Peralta, and viola with Elizabeth Ridolfi, Claudio Medina, Adrián Felizia, Javier Cárdenas, Rolando Prusak, and Rafael Gintoli. Additionally, he completed the Viola program at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA). In 2020, he obtained a yoga teaching certification.

As a violist, Esteban is currently a member of the Orquesta de Música Argentina Juan de Dios Filiberto and the Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Olavarría, where he has also performed as a soloist. He is part of the string quartet Azabache Tango, where he contributes as a composer and producer. He has collaborated as a violist with prominent ensembles, including the Teatro Colón’s Orquesta Estable, the Teatro Colón Chamber Opera, Teatro Avenida Opera, and the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Cuyo, among others. Esteban has participated in renowned festivals and workshops such as the Santa Catarina Music Festival (FEMUSC) and Música Maestra, taught by Diego Schissi. In the past year, he recorded Le Grand Tango and his own arrangement of Vuelvo al Sur, both composed by Astor Piazzolla.

Esteban Fioroni is generously supported by Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists Scholarship.

Bruno began his cello studies at the age of 15 with professors Gastón Colloca and Myriam Santucci. In 2007, he entered the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA). In 2011, he continued his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Liège (Belgium) under the guidance of Professor Jean-Pol Zanutel, where he graduated in 2014. Bruno decided to further his education at the Brussels and Antwerp Conservatories and is currently studying privately with Professor Diego Fainguersch.

Since 2017, Bruno has regularly performed with the Sinfónica Nacional, the Orchestra of the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, and the Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires. He also collaborates with the Teatro Colón's Chamber Opera and the the Centro de Experimentación del Teatro Colón. He is a founding member of the NEO Ensemble and the Hopper Ensemble (BE).

Since the end of 2016, Bruno has been teaching in the program of the Orquestas Escuelas of the City of Buenos Aires.

Bruno Bragato Diaz is generously supported by the Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists Scholarship.

Lucas Crawford is the author of four poetry books that all kind of wanted to be lyrics: Sideshow Concessions (Invisible Publishing, 2015), The High Line Scavenger Hunt (U of Calgary, 2018), Belated Bris of the Brainsick (Nightwood Editions, 2019), and Muster Points (U of Calgary, 2023). His long poem about maritime music and its queer provenances, “Failed Seances for Rita MacNeil,” was widely republished, including in Best Canadian Poetry 2015. With Morgan Sea, he is author of “Report from the Interior,” a poetry-comic that may become a music video soon (crossing fingers).

By day, Lucas is Canada Research Chair of Transgender Creativity and Mental Health at the Augustana Faculty of the University of Alberta. He leads “Rewriting Ourselves: Poetry in the Psych Ward,” a collaborative pilot project offering free poetry workshops to psychiatric inpatients in 2025.

At Banff, Lucas will spend mornings tidying a poetry book called “Leonard Cohen is Starving!,” and writing an accompanying academic article about Cohen’s appetites. During the evenings, Lucas will finetune some of his own songs – poppy queer poetic folk of guitar/vocal/euphonium. 

Lucas Crawford is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Andrew Li is an emerging multimedia artist, composer, musician, and developer whose work seamlessly bridges the worlds of music, technology, and visual storytelling. Originally from Hong Kong and now based in Toronto, Andrew has built a reputation for his innovative approach to creative media.

As the composer, sound designer, and co-developer for the game ‘Meow Tunes’, Andrew played a pivotal role in its Honourable Mention for Technical Innovation at the Toronto Level Up Showcase 2023. His sound design and compositions for animations include award-winning projects such ‘Red’, which won the Digital Creativity award for the 22nd DigiCon6 Asia Animation Competition, and ‘Exit’, which earned an Honourable Mention at the Taiwan International Student Design Competition and the film has amassed over 80,000 views on YouTube.

Beyond his accolades, Andrew’s versatility shines in his live performances, videography, and development. From performing for Thursday @ Three on All Classical Portland Radio to developing music educational platforms like ‘No Need to Vanish’, funded by Canada Council for the Arts, his expertise leaves an indelible mark on every project.

Graduated with a Master in Music Technology and Digital Media from the University of Toronto, Andrew is working on his second album that combines visual media and music.

Andrew Li is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Indonesian-born pianist, composer, and producer Lifia Teguh captivates audiences with her inventive fusion of genres, intertwining traditional Indonesian sounds with blues, classical, and pop music. Known for her originality, Lifia’s work has garnered international attention. Her piano quartet, Liber Dangdut, was featured at the College Music Society's National Conference in New York, celebrating her artistry on an international platform.

Lifia’s talent earned her first place in the PSU Concerto Competition, which led to her debut with the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra in the U.S playing Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major. She has also performed live frequently for Thursdays @ Three on All Classical Portland Radio, where her vibrant personality and musicality shine. As a featured composer in Fear No Music’s Locally Sourced Sounds VII, she captivated audiences with Imagine Indonesia, a piece that reimagines piano sounds to mimic traditional Indonesian instruments like the gamelan and rindik as well as capturing the traditional kecak dance of Bali.

Having recently graduated in Music Technology and Digital Media from the University of Toronto, Lifia also holds Master’s degrees in Piano Performance & Collaborative Piano. Lifia is currently working on her second album, a genre-bending fusion of diverse musical styles.

Lifia Teguh is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

JUNO nominated, Canadian Folk Music Award winning fiddler and violinist Elise Boeur explores the outfields of contemporary folk music with a deceptively light touch. Her music is grounded in aural folk traditions, with a particular interest in the expansive forms and elasticity of time in Norwegian hardingfele music.

As a bandleader, she currently concentrates on her prog-trad quintet Aerialists, using the group as a playground to explore permutations of minimalist, pop, jazz, and post-rock sounds and structures reflected onto traditional celtic and nordic fiddle music. Another current focus is playing for community folk dances in several genres, as a more direct communication of fiddle traditions born out of decades of social music making.

Elise also works as a chameleonic collaborator on stage and in the studio, where her work as a side-person with songwriters and poets has shaped a sonic sensitivity and impressionistic approach to string playing.

Elise Boeur is generously supported by the N. Murray Edwards Family Fund. 

Isa Holmgren is a vocalist and dancer working in the field of traditional Swedish and Norwegian folk music and improvised music. With a background in the traditional dance scene, her solo performances revolve around the asymmetrical rhythms and melodies of the fiddle music from the border regions between Sweden and Norway. Her music centres the voice, and rests on astonishingly accurate transcriptions of the sound and characteristics of the fiddle as well as on thorough research of vocal traditions. Her first solo record, the EP Efter Eda , was released in 2019 at Ransäterstämman Festival (SE) and was well received. She also works and collaborates with groups such as Staerna (SE/NO/FI) and Aerialists (CA). 

She has a Bachelors degree from the Academy of Music and Drama in Gothenburg (SE) and a Masters degree in Traditional Nordic Folk Music from the Academy of Music in Oslo (NO), where she is regular guest teacher in traditional music and dance. Isa also works with choirs and ensembles focusing on traditional music, both as a conductor and composer. 

Her latest album Dans med meg, released in 2024 on the label Melovitten (NO), features dancers and explores the musical and audible connection between the movements and sounds of the voice and the dancers.

Isa Holmgren is generously supported by the Isobel and Tom Rolston Fellowships in Music Endowment, and the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

The Pandan Quartet is a dynamic young string quartet based in the Oberlin Conservatory of Music since 2023. They have been the recipients of Flint Initiative, Shansi, and Oberlin Winter Term Grants. The Pandan Quartet was invited to participate in the 2024 Singapore Chamber Music Festival, where they performed to critical acclaim for local audiences, renowned artists, and various international embassies. They are honored to have had the opportunity to pave the way for more academic, musical, and cultural exchanges between East Asia and Oberlin College. Later in 2024, the Pandan Quartet was invited to be the Artists in Residence for the Off The Hook Arts: Music Spoke Concert Series, located in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Working alongside the Dalí Quartet, the Pandan Quartet performed a range of different concerts, including multiple educational and outreach performances for families and children, various donor events to help support the festival, and more formal concerts. The Pandan Quartet was invited to Banff Center for the Winter 2025 Musicians in Residence where they will work with the Kronos Quartet among other renowned artists. Other quartet projects include learning two of the Kronos Quartet’s “50 for the future” pieces and performing in senior care facilities. 

The Pandan Quartet has worked with a host of incredible artists, including Tabbea Zimmerman, the Takacs Quartet, the Dalí Quartet, the AOI trio, the Verona Quartet, Sunny Yang (Kronos Quartet), Kirsten Doctor (Cavani Quartet), Sibbi Bernhardsson (Pacifica Quartet), Bill van der Sloot (Villa Marteau Quintet), Peter Slowik, and Leslie Tan.

The Pandan Quartet is generously supported by the Cyril and Elizabeth Challice Fund for Musicians, and the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Miranda Currie is a captivating northern Indigenous singer-songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, living and working among the Dene people in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. She walks in two worlds, with one foot in her Swampy Cree heritage and the other foot in her Euro-Canadian ancestry.

In 2022, she was awarded Indigenous Artist of Excellence by Music NWT. Her solo debut album Up in the Air was nominated for Aboriginal Songwriter of the year by the CFMA’s in 2015.

In 2025, Miranda will be Sub-Arctic Sing-A-Long! This, her third children’s album, introduces listeners to different genres of music, all from a northern indigenous lens. Songs like “My Ribbon Skirt” are up-beat and celebratory while “Do You Know Why?” speaks sensitive truths about why we wear our orange shirts on National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Miranda’s songs are interactive and include indigenous language and stories that will delight family audiences.

Miranda has graced stages of festivals, including Folk on the Rocks, Canmore Folk Festival, and Snowking's Winter Festival, and showcased her artistry at Breakout West. Her performances are infused with passion and authenticity, leaving audiences spellbound with her unapologetic vocals and storytelling prowess. Through her music, Miranda Currie attempts to change the Indigenous narrative in Canada in a positive way

Miranda Currie is generously supported by the Jenny Belzberg Endowment and Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Hiroki Tanaka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and composer. Formerly lead guitarist of YAMANTAKA // SONIC TITAN, he has embarked on a solo career that infuses elements of his Japanese-Canadian heritage with lyrical, conceptual folk, and indie rock. 

His debut solo album, Kaigo Kioku Kyoku, was built from Tanaka’s experience as a caregiver for his grandmother with Alzheimer’s, and uncle with terminal cancer. Kaigo Kioku Kyoku makes music out of meaningful objects, voice recordings of his relatives, and are structured off of hymns and Japanese folk songs. 

During the pandemic, he collaborated with Prof. Megan Davies (York University) on Covid In The House of Old, a traveling exhibit meant to shed light on those “who either died or were severely impacted by COVID-19 while living in long-term care”. 

His work with YT//ST was nominated for the 2018 Polaris prize, and toured extensively in Canada/US and Western Europe. He continues to write, record and perform his own music while based in Toronto.

Hiroki Tanaka is generously supported by the OK Gift Shop Endowment and Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

b. 1987, Utah

Crossing boundaries is a feature of Hannah Epperson's life and music—from residence in the US and Canada to nearly 400 live performances in North America, Europe and the Middle East. Singled out by Bandcamp as “one of the most stunningly unconventional artists making music today,” renowned musicologist/critic Ted Gioia chose her debut album Upsweep as one of the Top 3 recordings of 2016, calling it “unique, haunting, addictive.” Classically trained, her genre-bending violin looping and singing was enriched by apprenticeships with the fiddler of acclaimed Deseret String Band and studio work and performances with Fleet Foxes, Julianna Barwick and Ry X. A graduate in Human Geography, a member of Canada’s world champion Ultimate Frisbee Team, Hannah embodies music as a bridge, gathering soundscapes and people together in transfiguring moments of live and studio performances.

Hannah Epperson is generously supported by the N. Murray Edwards Family Fund.

Elissa began her piano studies at the age of 4, enrolling in the Sulhi al Wadi Conservatory in Syria. After earning a 10-year degree with honors, she continued her education at the Higher Institute of Music in Damascus under Professor Victoria Snobar. She later moved to Montreal to attend McGill University, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance under Professor Kyoko Hashimoto in 2023, receiving the Anna Paull Gertler Scholarship in Music.

Elissa has collaborated with the Al Farah Choir in France (2016), with Eyad Al Rimawi in Syria (2017), and gave a solo concert at the Damascus Opera House (2021). She also participated in the Domaine Forget de Charlevoix International Music and Dance Academy's 2023 New Music session, and performed with Le Vivier in 2023 and 2024, as well as at the Outaouais en fête music festival (2024).

Elissa is an RCM-certified piano teacher, currently working at the Coopérative des Professeurs de Musique de Montréal. She founded a workshop series through McGill’s Community Engagement Project, focused on spreading Arabic music in Montreal.

Elissa Nakhleh is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Maddalena Ohrbach (she/her) is an Italian-American multidisciplinary singer. She received her Bachelor’s from the Peabody Institute, studying with Ah Young Hong funded by the Rosa Ponselle Scholarship in Voice. In college, she served as a Technology Fellow and Inspired Aging Fellow, contributing to the ear-training curriculum and accessibility awareness around elderly perception of music; she also premiered many works by living composers and worked as a collaborative pianist. Ohrbach has interned with Boulanger Initiative and Institute of Composer Diversity, researching and advocating for marginalized composers, and pulls inspiration from vocalists Julia Bullock and Pamela Z. She has sung with Buffalo Choral Arts Society, Harmonicham, regional invitationals including NAfME All-Eastern, and toured Europe as the featured soloist with American Music Abroad’s Honor Choir. She recently appeared at Opera McGill as Berthe in Weir’s Blond Eckbert and will soon premier a role in Gray’s Tax Opera and co-direct Sokolović’s Svadba. She has received the Fonds de recherche Québec (FRQ) grant, Segal AmeriCorps Education Award, and Peabody Launch Grant, among others. She lives in Montréal, Québec, where she pursues a Master’s at McGill University studying with Dominique Labelle and Michael McMahon, and she loves to cook and run along the Lachine Canal.

Maddalena Ohrbach is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Shahriyar Jamshidi, a Kurdish-Canadian kamānche/ kamāncheh player, composer, and vocalist with a pronounced cultural background is renowned for his creative and masterful kamānche improvisations, both as a soloist and in ensembles. He is a graduate of Tehran University of Art and a former artist-in-residence at Banff Centre. Shahriyar has devoted his artistic profession to the preservation and transmission of the Kurdish musical heritage.

Since settling in Canada in 2012, Shahriyar has consistently sought new musical languages, thereby crossing cultures with his kamānche recitals. He already performed at the University of Minneapolis School of Music; Cello Biënnale Amsterdam; University of Glasgow; the 33rd World Conference of International Society for Music Education (ISME), Azerbaijan; Festival du Monde Arabe de Montréal; Canadian Opera Company; McMaster University; Sound Symposium XXI; and collaborated with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra (2019) and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra (2024). He released four solo albums - his latest recording “My Sunset-Land ROJAVA” is dedicated to all women who lost their lives to liberate Kobanî, Rojava (Western Kurdistan in Syria) in 2015.

Shahriyar has received several Canadian and international awards including ISME in 2018. 

Shahriyar Jamshidi is generously supported by the David and Peggy Leighton Endowment and Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Aditya Ryan Bhat is a musician based in Narrm/Melbourne, Australia.

Aditya is active as a percussionist with a penchant for experimental music—regardless of whether precisely notated, freely improvised, or somewhere in-between! He has had the chance to work with leading musicians/groups in the field, including Anthony Braxton, ELISION Ensemble and Speak Percussion. A keen collaborator, he thrives on exploring new sonic territory in the company of friends, exchanging ideas and approaches. Accordingly, in composition, Aditya is preoccupied with finding non-prescriptive ways to communicate musical ideas, delighting in the chance emergence of fascinating sounds, moments of spontaneous discovery—whether hysterical or profound—and other ephemera.

Thematically, Aditya's work has a strong political and ecological focus, examining the many and varied effects of colonialism, as in recent pieces, including fixed/fleeting (commissioned by New North Music), …at war with oneself (with Todd J. Bennett) and Cerita Buat Dien Tamaela (after Chairil Anwar, for WHACKollective and Jeffry Liando). These concerns carry across to his interests in research and curation, which explore political and ecological themes, in relation to the many and varied effects of colonialism.

Aditya has trained in percussion at the Australian National Academy of Music (ANAM), under the guidance of Peter Neville and John Arcaro. He completed a Bachelor of Music (Honours) at the University of Melbourne in 2023, for which he wrote a thesis on electronic music and anthropology. Outside of music, Aditya enjoys cycling, cooking, and reading about history and cultures.

Aditya Bhat is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Eleanor Stalcup (they/he/she) is a Boston-based contemporary composer, sound designer, and audio engineer. They specialize in audio-visual and electro-acoustic composition and are excited to explore the natural soundscapes of Banff as a composer in residence. They attended the Atlantic Music Festival in 2023, where they premiered four original works. He is also an avid theater-maker and has worked on productions with the Stanford Shakespeare Company (Twelfth Night, Titus Andronicus… And Zombies!, Much Ado About Nothing, The Two Noble Kinsmen), the Stanford Asian American Theater Company (Mary Magdalene, Daughter, Boatperson), and Golden Thread Productions (Pilgrimage), primarily as a Sound Designer and Producer. They are currently producing an EP with the Stanford Shakespeare Company and will be completing an apprenticeship at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in May 2025.

Eleanor graduated from Stanford University in 2024 with a B.A. in Music Composition and Political Science, where he studied composition with Giancarlo Aquilanti and Eric Ulman, and oboe with Robin May. They are currently studying Film Scoring Technology at Berklee College of Music. 

Eleanor Stalcup is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

I Agar Haineault,

Was born in Saskatoon, SK and raised in Clearwater River and La Loche, SK. This is where I spent the first 15 years of my life. Growing up post-colonization of our Dene Culture, the language was still strongly prevalent in the community. Despite such strong retention of our cultural values, we lacked the ceremony and teaching to heal spiritually and inherit our history thus creating a community consumed by crime, addiction and poverty. 

Despite all that surrounded me, I focused on school for most of my up-bringing. I often credit my mother for this, due to her being the only parent present at home. Despite having a strong role model such as my mother, I was still surrounded by the madness of my community. Often as a young child witnessing violence in the community from criminals and police, family members addictions, funerals of close relatives, as well as participating in the destruction of my community as a young teen.

At 15 years old, I decided to leave my community to pursue schooling in the city of Saskatoon. The culture shock was immense, taking me by surprise at the abundance of resources available to the students and citizens in the city. Having come from such poverty and crime-ridden circumstances, simply pouring myself a cup of clean water from the faucet baffled me. It was in the 11th Grade English Class, I discovered poetry. This was the start of a journey that would save my life. I began my first poem from a prompt that advised me to write about where I’m from. I was given lessons on writing with sensory details and structuring a poem. After spending 2 days on the piece, I handed it in and got a 95% on the assignment. It felt like the only thing I was truly skilled at, so I pursued it further through creative writing classes and college classes when I graduated. I observed and learned from poets I came in contact with, developing my style further and further until I began to play with the idea of pursuing music. I had always written my poetry pieces to instrumentals, to give them a sense of rhythm and structure.

It was October of 2021 I purchased a microphone and began to play around with recording programs on a old laptop of my close friend’s. Eventually after days of reading and researching how, I recorded my very first song “Dead Ends”. The process probably took 200 vocal takes to record and get right due to my lack of knowledge on my recording software. But finally I had finished it and had to come up with an artist name for myself.

I spent weeks and finally came up with K.$TONE, a backwards euphemism for Stonechild; as in Neil Stonechild, a teenager killed by police in the Saskatoon Starlight tours. The K standing for the initial of who will be my first child, and the $TONE parallel with Stone(child). Although the $ sign was intentional, meaning as big of a symbolic martyr as Neil Stonechild was, I am still human, I still fall short to the vices and temptation of human greed and consequence. The dollar sign representing my biggest shortcoming which was money. Having been around poverty my whole life, my view on money became distorted, putting it on a pedestal compared to other aspects of my life including family, love and connection.

Through every facet of the name K.$TONE, I chose the name as a symbol that it could have been any one of us, including myself. In the case that it is me, I also intended the name as a legacy for anyone who doesn’t know the story of Neil Stonechild. To say the name “K.$TONE” and inquire on the origin, then realize the deeper meaning behind the choice. To hold the name as a symbol of not only justice but Honesty, one of my biggest virtues. Although my music may not always consist of conscience social issues, it will always contain honest expression.

It was along the journey of finally releasing music and meeting like-minded artists, that I found it to be my true calling. It was only after dropping songs so dear to my heart and keeping my expression true, did I realize my impact on my community. I visited La Loche and Clearwater and was met with both positive and negative feedback. My younger relatives and relatives of my close friends celebrated my art and expression. I spoke with them and guided them in parts of their life they were struggling. Having been in the same circumstances, they felt inspired that I had come so far from the place they had been in, and witnessing first hand they can do the same. The negative feedback consisted of jealous comments and mocking my art, but I paid no mind. Having felt I made a difference to even 1 of my peers and relatives was all I needed to keep striving. Knowing they felt understood gave me the standard at which I hold myself today. Being honest and to aim at achieving the absolute best, I can to be an example and a source of pride for my family.

Since the release of my first song “Dead Ends” on December 17th 2021, I have opened up for big name artists such as Tony Yayo, Madchild, BBNO$ & Swae Lee, as well as performed at countless poetry events, festivals, open mics and various showcases. I have also co-founded my record label “Siren City Entertainment” with Nicholas Old Shoes AKA Donny Sage, my close friend and frequent collaborator in music. I have also composed a small EP under the name “FALLING SKY”, with my producer Alchemy the Linguist.

Agar Haineault is generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, and Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Described as “darkly lyrical” by the New York Times, an awardee of 2023 Chamber Music America Commissioning Grant, a winner of 2022 Beth Morrison Projects Next Generation Competition, and a 2019 recipient of Opera America’s Discovery Grant and National Sawdust Hildegard Commission Award, Iranian-American composer Niloufar Nourbakhsh’s music has been commissioned and performed by Norwegian Radio Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Nashville Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic musicians, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, International Contemporary Ensemble, Camerata Pacifica, Library of Congress, Center for Contemporary Opera, National Sawdust, New Music USA, Shriver Hall, Forward Music Project, PUBLIQuartet, Loadbang Ensemble, Calidore String Quartet, Cassatt String Quartet, Akropolis Reed Quintet, and Ensemble Connect at numerous festivals and venues including BBC Proms, Ojai Music Festival, Carnegie Hall, Washington Kennedy Center, Mostly Mozart Festival, and many more. A founding member and co-director of Iranian Female Composers Association, Nilou is a strong advocate of music education. She currently teaches theory and composition at Longy School of Music of Bard College and Berklee College of Music. Nilou also regularly performs with her ensemble, Decipher.

Niloufar received a Ph.D. in music composition from Stony Brook University under the supervision of Sheila Silver.

Niloufar Nourbakhsh is generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Born in the Black Forest, she grew up between Germany, Uganda, and Burkina Faso. She began with violin and piano lessons at the age of 6. In 2008, she started her artistic career in violin at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Mendelssohn-Bartholdy in Leipzig and graduated in 2014 with the highest honors. In 2009, she also began Theatre Studies at the University of Leipzig, completing her degree in 2014. 

At the end of 2014, she was hired as a violinist by the Orquesta Estable del Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires where she won a stability position in a competition in 2018. She has been contracted by the Centro de Experimentación del Teatro Colón for various chamber music formats.

Since 2017, she has been a co-founder and concertmaster of the String Orchestra Cuerdas del Plata and is also the composer and director of the string quartet Azabache. With Azabache, she has toured Europe, performing in various venues and festivals, including the Tango Festival in Tarbes (France).

In February 2023, she won the position of tango violin teacher in the advanced cycle at the Escuela de Música Popular Avellaneda (Empa). She conducts tango seminars for string players in Argentina and abroad. 

Katharina Deissler is generously supported by the Frederick Louis Crosby Memorial Endowment.

Adriana began her violin studies at the age of 10 with Prof. Santiago de Angulo (Colombia). Subsequently, her teachers included Ricardo Rodríguez, Norberto Minces, José Bondar, and Daniel Robuschi. She participated in violin and chamber music seminars and masterclasses with renowned teachers such as Felix Olschofka, Jack Glatzer, Haydeé Schvartz , Ulla Benz, Catalyst String Quartet, Marmen String Quartet, among others.

Additionally, Adriana took part in the 2018 Santa Catarina Music Festival (Brazil) in the String Quartet program, under the direction of the Arianna String Quartet (United States). She is currently in her final year of the Bachelor's degree in Musical Arts at Universidad Nacional de las Artes. She has worked as a violinist for the Orchestra of the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, and since March 2018, has been a permanent member of the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional in the first violin section. Since 2017, Adriana has been a member of the Cuarteto Arkhé, performing in various venues in Buenos Aires, including Templo Libertad, Usina del Arte, and Salón de Honor (Centro Cultural Kirchner), among others. Internationally, she has performed at the Teatro del Sodre (Uruguay) and Teatro Pequenho (Santa Catarina).

Adriana Miranda Torrico is generously supported by the Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists Scholarship.

Esteban began his music education at the Municipal School of Music of Olavarría and the Ernesto Mogávero Municipal Conservatory. At 18, he moved to Buenos Aires to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Composition at the Faculty of Arts and Musical Sciences at the Universidad Católica Argentina (UCA), where he was awarded a scholarship for academic excellence. Simultaneously, he studied composition under the guidance of Julio Viera and Julián Peralta, and viola with Elizabeth Ridolfi, Claudio Medina, Adrián Felizia, Javier Cárdenas, Rolando Prusak, and Rafael Gintoli. Additionally, he completed the Viola program at the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA). In 2020, he obtained a yoga teaching certification.

As a violist, Esteban is currently a member of the Orquesta de Música Argentina Juan de Dios Filiberto and the Municipal Symphony Orchestra of Olavarría, where he has also performed as a soloist. He is part of the string quartet Azabache Tango, where he contributes as a composer and producer. He has collaborated as a violist with prominent ensembles, including the Teatro Colón’s Orquesta Estable, the Teatro Colón Chamber Opera, Teatro Avenida Opera, and the Symphony Orchestra of the University of Cuyo, among others. Esteban has participated in renowned festivals and workshops such as the Santa Catarina Music Festival (FEMUSC) and Música Maestra, taught by Diego Schissi. In the past year, he recorded Le Grand Tango and his own arrangement of Vuelvo al Sur, both composed by Astor Piazzolla.

Esteban Fioroni is generously supported by Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists Scholarship.

Bruno began his cello studies at the age of 15 with professors Gastón Colloca and Myriam Santucci. In 2007, he entered the Universidad Nacional de las Artes (UNA). In 2011, he continued his studies at the Royal Conservatory of Liège (Belgium) under the guidance of Professor Jean-Pol Zanutel, where he graduated in 2014. Bruno decided to further his education at the Brussels and Antwerp Conservatories and is currently studying privately with Professor Diego Fainguersch.

Since 2017, Bruno has regularly performed with the Sinfónica Nacional, the Orchestra of the Teatro Argentino de La Plata, and the Orquesta Filarmonica de Buenos Aires. He also collaborates with the Teatro Colón's Chamber Opera and the the Centro de Experimentación del Teatro Colón. He is a founding member of the NEO Ensemble and the Hopper Ensemble (BE).

Since the end of 2016, Bruno has been teaching in the program of the Orquestas Escuelas of the City of Buenos Aires.

Bruno Bragato Diaz is generously supported by the Raul Urtasun/Frances Harley Argentina Artists Scholarship.