With over 30 years of experience under his fingers, Nicolas Hernandez’s style has evolved into a distinctive, modern “voice” in the flamenco genre. His debut CD “Buscando mi voz” won a Just Plain Folks Award for Best Flamenco Album in 2009 and his second CD “Rupakerias” was released in 2018. Nicolas was the musical director for the Esmeralda Enrique Spanish Dance Company for over 20 years and toured the world with the Jesse Cook band for 16 years. Nicolas is presently involved in various projects throughout the flamenco community in Toronto. 

Christopher Hale lives in Toronto’s Gerrard India Bazaar, where he teaches sitar and performs at Indian and Pakistani weddings. His performances feature both North Indian classical sitar and popular Hindi film songs and ghazals. Conversant in Hindi and Nepali, he draws on his childhood experiences in South Asia.

Chris began his sitar studies in 1984 at the age of fifteen while attending boarding school in India. He received a Bachelor of Music in Composition from Berklee College of Music in 1990 and was awarded the Visharad degree in sitar performance in 1998 from the Bhatkhande Music Institute (Lucknow). In 2002, he continued his studies with his current guru, Partha Chatterjee, a disciple of Pandit Nikhil Banerjee.

From 2000 to 2012, Chris recorded eight albums and toured throughout the Indian diaspora with the Hindi-language fusion band Aradhna, for which he was the lead singer and sitarist.

Sevda Sinan is a Toronto-based singer and multi-instrumentalist with a background in musicology and a passion for teaching at the Cabbagetown Community Music School. Her performances explore the rich heritage of Anatolian music, from spiritual ney melodies inspired by Yunus Emre to the heartfelt songs of Âşık Veysel and contemporary Turkish favourites. Accompanying her voice on the oud, saz, guitar, or ney, she creates warm, evocative soundscapes that bridge Eastern and Western traditions. On cold winter days, her repertoire of Anatolian rhythms and beloved folk songs offers cozy, uplifting melodies that connect deeply with listeners.

Musician, instrument maker, and ethnomusicologist Nuno Cristo was born in Lisbon, Portugal, and holds a Master’s degree in Music from York University. He specializes in the Portuguese guitar, performing as a solo artist and with the fado ensembles Banza Duo and Anima Fado. A recipient of grants from the Toronto Arts Council, the Ontario Arts Council, and the Canada Council for the Arts, Nuno has self-produced two CDs, collaborated with Nelly Furtado, Béla, and others, recorded live for CBC Radio, and performed internationally in the United States, Macao (China), and Portugal.