Ross Daly has dedicated his life to studying the great modal music traditions of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent. Since 1975, he has been based on the island of Crete, where he is universally recognized as one of the foremost experts on the island’s rich musical tradition.

Daly has released over 38 albums with hundreds of his own compositions and arrangements of traditional melodies collected during his travels. Crete still provides a base for his research as he travels the world performing his music and directing the Musical Workshop “Labyrinth” in the village of Houdetsi.

Kelly Thoma has been studying the lyra with Ross Daly since 1995, travelling with him and “Labyrinth” around the world.

She has played with renowned musicians, such as the Trio Chemirani and Ömer Erdoğdular, resulting in a unique sound and personal style. Thoma is a member of Tokso Folk String Quartet, exploring and creating music inspired, amongst others, by Nordic traditions.

Thoma has performed on stages such as Carnegie Hall, Theatre de la Ville, and Queen Elizabeth Hall, and released three albums of her own compositions: Anamkhara (2009), 7Fish (2014) and “As Τhe Winds Die Down” (2018).

Started in 2021 by Labyrinth Ontario, the Labyrinth Ensemble engages in two residencies a year with various international guest artists, such as Maliheh Moradi and Evgenios Voulgaris. They are dedicated to experimenting with and promoting modal music traditions of Central, West, and South Asia, and the Mediterranean, and are trained to appreciate the particularities of makam music without compromise. In promoting cross-cultural work, the Ensemble unites the distinct but historically connected musics of Asia and the Mediterranean on their own terms, rather than altering tunings and rhythms to match European music theory as is often the norm.

The performing members are: Sadaf Amini, Julian Anderson-Bowes, Yang Chen, Burak Ekmekçi, Michael K. Harrist, Roa Lee, Sasan Salaseli, Araz Salek, Marta Solek, Tev Stevig, Aysel Taghi-Zada, and Amely Zhou.