"As a pre-teen Daniel Fischlin was smitten by all stringed things after hearing the two Jimmys, and versions of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Shakti, and The Mothers of Invention). He took lessons on flamenco and classical guitar with the inspirational George Doxas in a church basement in Montréal and went on to receive, years later, a BFA in performance on classical guitar and Renaissance lute, studying along the way with a number of teachers in Canada, France, and the USA. Aside from a short stint with an alt-fusion band that included some of the Doroschuk brothers (of Men Without Hats notoriety), Fischlin was especially active in the early music scene in Montréal, as a founding member of the acclaimed group Musica Secreta (along with Hank Knox, Valerie Kinslow, Suzie Leblanc, and Betsy MacMillan), and as an occasional player in the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (SMAM) under Christopher Jackson and Réjean Poirier. During this period he was heard as both a performer and composer on CBC, and was a founding member, with composer Alan Belkin, of the Composer's Concert Society, devoted to promoting new music by young Canadian composers played by young Canadian musicians. As a classical guitarist he has performed world premieres of work by Andrew P. MacDonald and Chan Ka Nin. Fischlin went on to write a dissertation (later a book) on the English lute song, a performance area in which he had specialized, and has since become one of Canada's most prolific and acclaimed interdisciplinary scholars. Fischlin has also studied percussion, and during a teaching exchange in Cuba worked extensively with traditional Afro-Cuban bata percussionists (from AfroCuba de Matanzas) in the La Marina community in Matanzas. He has been active with the Toronto free-improvising ensemble The Woodchoppers Association for a number of years and co-led a mission to Cuba with Woodchoppers members Dave Clark and Lewis Melville. Recent work has seen Fischlin contributing as a player to CDs by acclaimed Malian musician Jah Youssouf and the compilation CD Afghanistan... On Guard For Thee? as well as sessions work on Tannis Slimmon's most recent album. The Vertical Squirrels project sees Fischlin combining with long-time musical and academic collaborators as part of a lifelong commitment to improvisation, musique actuelle, unexpected musical synergies, and the spirit in which they get created."

"Under the visionary leadership of Ajay Heble, The Guelph Jazz Festival - winner of the 2010 Premier's Award for Excellence in the Arts, and a three-time recipient of the Lieutenant Governor's Award of the Arts (1997, 2000, '01) - has achieved a rock-solid international reputation as one of the world's most inspired and provocative musical events. As the founder and Artistic Director of the Festival, Heble has inspired an appreciation of improvised and avant-garde music and delighted aficionados from around the world with his innovative and daring programming. Heble is also an accomplished pianist with a long background as a performer. His first CD, a live set of improvised music called Different Windows with percussionist Jesse Stewart, was released on the IntrepidEar label in 2001. All proceeds from this recording, as from the live concert of improvised music it documents, have gone towards the Festival. Heble has also participated as a musician in concerts and recordings in support of a range of charitable or not-for-profit organizations. He has performed in recent years with John Heward's Murray Street Band, Pauline Oliveros, Ellen Waterman, Lori Freedman, Eddie Prévost, Rob Clutton, and others. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Heble was active performing and composing music for various avant-garde jazz, alternative rock, and electronic bands, working with artists such as Richard Underhill, Don McKellar, and many others. He has performed at numerous venues including the Harbourfront Centre, the El Mocambo, The Edge, the Music Gallery, and the Sala Rossa."

"Lewis Melville is a Guelph, Ontario multi-disciplinary musician and artist. His work has taken him on numerous adventures throughout Canada, South and North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa. A veteran of the Canadian alternative music scene, he has performed or recorded with iconic Canadian bands (Skydiggers, Rheostatics, Grievous Angels, Pat Temple and the High Lonesome Players, Cowboy Junkies, Bird Sisters, Bourbon Tabernacle Choir, Waltons, Kim Stockwood, 13 Engines, Tannis Slimmon, and others), including the multi-million selling album Gordon by Barenaked Ladies. He has maintained a keen interest in progressive music since the early seventies, and is an original member of the Woodchoppers Association, a Toronto-based free-style jazz orchestra, and Guelph's Vertical Squirrels quartet. Lewis also performs with the Hoofbeats, the Banjo Mechanics, and Guelph singer-songwriter Tannis Slimmon. Lewis has produced numerous recordings in Canada, as well as for artists in Bhutan, West Africa, Germany, Cuba, and refugee camps on the Thai-Burmese border. His work with Malian musicians is the subject of a documentary film on the role of music in development (The Road to Baleya, 2008) by Canadian filmmaker Bay Weyman."

"Ted Warren (drummer) studied Music at Montréal's McGill University, and received a certificate in Jazz Studies from St Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. He teaches in the Jazz Studies programs at both Humber College in Toronto and Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario, and is also busy as a clinician and adjudicator. An active member of Canada's jazz scene, Warren has a solid reputation as a musical, versatile powerhouse of a drummer. He fronts his own quartet, Ted's Warren Commission, which released their debut CD, First Time Caller, to critical acclaim in 2004. He was the latest drummer with Rob McConnell's famed The Boss Brass and can be heard on six of their recent CDs, including Velvet and Brass (with Mel Torme), From Lush to Lively (with Oliver Jones), Even Canadians Get the Blues, and The Boss Brass Plays the Jazz Classics. He is a member of ensembles led by Mike Murley, Mike Downes, Kieran Overs, Roy Patterson, Ted Quinlan, and Kevin Turcotte, among others and has worked with many of the world's most acclaimed performers including Slide Hampton, Sonny Greenwich, Maynard Ferguson, Lew Soloff, Chuck Mangione, Jeff Healey, Norma Winstone, Sheila Jordan, Howard Johnson, Nick Brignola, Kenny Wheeler, and Jerry Bergonzi. He has toured extensively in Poland, South Korea, Spain, Brazil, Iceland, and Japan, and performed at Carnegie Hall with harpist Joanna Jordon. Ted Warren was recipient of The Jazz Report's "Drummer of the Year" Award in 1996. In 2010 he joined the Vertical Squirrels adding his unique percussive voice to the band's volatile sound."

"Dong-Won Kim is a Korean percussionist, pedagogue, vocalist, composer, and improviser. Since 1984, he has studied various forms of traditional music, ranging from farmers' drumming and dance, shaman music, and Pansori accompaniment, as well as music theory from the great Korean music masters. Recognized internationally as a master of his form, he has performed all over the world including at the United Nations General Assembly Hall as a regular member of Yo-Yo Ma's Silkroad Ensemble Project. While Dong-Won plays a range of percussive instruments, his primary instrument is the jang-go: an hourglass-shaped drum with two leather heads that are struck with mallets. One side of the drum has a higher pitch than the other. The instrument is used in samul nori traditional folk music, which was popularized by Korean farmers. Samul nori music typically features four different percussion instruments, each of which represents a force in nature. The jang-go symbolizes water or rain."

"Gary Diggins has worked for over three decades as an expressive arts therapist. His work combines counselling, mindful practices, and music as medicine. As an educator, Gary teaches in the Expressive Arts Department of Fleming College and he lectures at various learning institutes, including Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Gary's current publication is entitled Tuning the Eardrums - Listening as a Mindful Practice. The content of Gary's work has been shared in communities affected by conflict in both Africa and Israel. At home, Gary has supported autistic clients at Toronto's Geneva Centre, cancer patients at SickKids Hospital, and addiction recovery groups.

In addition to Gary's therapeutic practice, he continues to perform Internationally as a cornet player and multi-instrumentalist artist. He plays a range of acoustic instruments from around the world. Combining ancient sounds with modern music, the airwaves become a canvas for imaginative soundscapes.

Gary has appeared on dozens of recordings and composed for three films. His musical collaborations have taken him to India, Israel, Europe, and throughout North America. Gary has collaborated with artistic organizations ranging from Cirque du Soleil to Canadian composer, R. Murray Schaffer.

Along with three other artists, Gary is co-owner of an arts space in Guelph that houses Silence, a not-for-profit collaborative devoted to new music. His personal sound sanctuary and therapeutic studio is based in this downtown facility."