Turkwaz is a unique combination of four musicians/singers, immersed in diverse traditions from mysterious Sufi devotional love songs to rousing Thracian dance music. Each performer brings a special flavour to the group. Maryem Hassan Tollar draws on her Arabic language heritage, Jayne Brown and Sophia Grigoriadis bring their experience with Greek music to the mix, and Brenna MacCrimmon adds her Turkish fascination. They have a long-standing collective interest in Balkan traditions and add Albanian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, and whatever else strikes their fancy to their repertoire. The love and respect they have for the traditions they draw from are clear but they are not afraid to arrange the tunes in new and unexpected ways to give them a fresh spin. 

Padideh Ahrarnejad, Ooldouz Pouri, and Ali Massoudi are acclaimed Iranian musicians who have brought their talents to the global stage.

Padideh Ahrarnejad, an award-winning tar player and educator, has performed Persian music worldwide, collaborated with legendary composer Hossein Alizâdeh, and is a member of Kuné, “Canada’s Global Orchestra.” She also teaches tar and setar in Toronto.

Ooldouz Pouri, an Azeri-Iranian singer, has toured internationally, blending folklore and jazz. After releasing a solo album with Norwegian label KKV, she formed the band “OOLDOUZLAR,” performing Azeri and Farsi songs in Toronto.

Ali Massoudi, a percussionist and academic, has played with renowned orchestras, including the Iranian National Music Orchestra. Now based in Canada, he co-founded the Navasaz Music Academy and remains active in the music scene.

Formed in 2023, the Rosh Riddims Band, comprised of Canada’s top musicians, has quickly become a force to be reckoned with. Their six-month residency at the Drake Hotel has solidified their reputation for delivering mesmerizing Reggae and Dancehall Fusion performances. With a rich tapestry of Reggae, Dancehall, Jazz, and cultural rhythms from the Caribbean, the Rosh Riddims Band crafts music that speaks to the heart and soul. 

Moskitto Bar is a fresh and unique sound created in the multi-cultural hub of Toronto, Canada. Their sound combines a beautiful and original mix of Ukrainian, Balkan, Iraqi, and French Celtic music.  

Toronto’s Polky, led by multi-talented immigrant female musicians, delights audiences with traditional vocals, unusual instruments, and energizing performances. Drawing deep inspiration from Poland’s rich cultural tapestry, they push musical boundaries by fearlessly blending Polish traditional music with sounds and rhythms from across the globe. 

This Arabic-Andalusian music blends the Spanish sounds of Andalusia with traditional Arabic music. An enchanting guitar performance containing Arabic rhythms intertwined with flamenco music sets the stage for professional flamenco dancers.

Each note is a song in Arabic and Spanish, coming together as history reunites Arabs with their long-gone past and presence in Andalusia. This project is produced and created by Tarek Ghriri. 

Eduardo Guerrero González (Cádiz, 1983) started dancing when he was only six years old at Carmen Guerrero’s school. There he built the foundations of his dance to later move on to its in-depth development, alongside teachers of the stature of Mario Maya, Antonio Canales, Manolo Marín, among others. He studied Spanish Dance at the Cádiz Dance Conservatory and later expanded his knowledge of contemporary and classical dance. 

Experience the culmination of the 2024 Intercultural and Creative Music Fellowship, a 14-week multidisciplinary project, with a concert featuring original songs inspired by light and a documentary capturing the creative journey. 

In the summer of 2024, eight Humber College Students came together to form the band Solara. Inspired by the architecture of the Aga Khan Museum, and the Light: Visionary Perspectives exhibition, Solara composed a suite of six songs, each of which presents a unique answer to the question “How does light guide us?”. 

“From Dawn to Dusk” is a short documentary that explores the varied perspectives of these artists before and after working on their 14-week multidisciplinary project. Each artist was interviewed at the beginning of the project to document their initial thoughts. This first part of the documentary represents hope and beginnings, symbolizing “dawn.” Each artist was interviewed after their first show in Montreal to reflect on their experience and the project. This second half represents transitions and the end of one phase and the beginning of another, symbolizing “dusk.” 

Presented with support from Bashir and Farida Dhanani and Family. 

Entertainer, musician, composer, dancer, choreographer, author, and educator Njacko Backo shares his uplifting music, energizing dance, and hope-filled stories with audiences of all ages and all walks of life. Born in Cameroon, musically and spiritually, Backo draws on the lessons he learned in Africa from his musical family, mentors and village life. Although he loved life in the village where he was immersed in music, his dream was to discover the world and learn all he could about people and different cultures. Backo left home at the age of 17, eventually landing in Europe, and then Canada. He moved to Toronto in 1998 where he recreated his band Kalimba Kalimba. Since that time, Njacko has grown his band’s sound to include a world flavour by blending traditional instruments (kalimba, djembe, ngoni, balafon) with more modern sounds (bass guitar, mandolin, banjo, fiddle, accordion, flute, drum kit, cello, bagpipes, sitar, dilruba, grand piano, oboe) and other traditional percussion (bata from Cuba, tabla from India, udu, cajon)

KUNÉ — Canada’s Global Orchestra — was developed from a major initiative by The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto to explore and celebrate Canada’s cultural diversity and pluralism. The ensemble seeks to communicate in ways that words, politicians, and spiritual leaders cannot, and help to find a common language through music. The musicians hail from all corners of the globe — from Peru, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Ukraine, and beyond — and play instruments as diverse as they are, from the tar of Iran to the bouzouki of Greece to the sitar of Pakistan.

A percussionist and vocalist based on Korean traditional music and a guitarist and bassist who have been playing jazz for a long time! It’s an obvious and simple combination, but their music is wonderful and surprising than we could imagine. The exciting performance of the bass over the unique rhythm of the “Janggu”, a traditional Korean percussion instrument, the splendid improvisation of the guitar, and the stage manners of the traditional vocalist surprised not only Korean audiences but also audiences in many countries. Gonia performed at representative world music festivals, including Seoul Music Week, Korea’s representative international music event, and received positive reviews. They promote their performances to the international market at major events such as English Folk Expo(UK) Visa for Music (Morocco), Fluvial (Chile) and Copenhagen Jazz Festival (Denmark). 

Suzette Vidale is an innovative artist with roots in Trinidad and St. Lucia. As an ambassador of the steelpan, her greatest moments are using it as a wellness tool to educate, entertain, and inspire. Vidale hopes that the instrument will act as a tool to provide a safe space to foster curiosity and creativity and encourage others to learn more about Caribbean arts and culture. 
 
Vidale has performed at the Viola Desmond Awards, the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, and the Lieutenant Governor’s New Year’s Levee.