"Marie-Neige Besner performs on voice, & saxophone.

Marie-Neige Besner, a native of Salluit, Nunavik, who grew up in Maniwaki, in the Outaouais, is a multidisciplinary, multi-instrumentalist, singer and saxophone artist who combines Inuit throat singing with other forms of sound, Including literature as well. Since her arrival in Bas-Saint-Laurent in 2011, she has been present on the Rimouski literary scene as a slammer, storyteller and poetess before investing in music and photography. She is currently a member of the GGRIL (Large regional group of improvised liberation) and the duo Brugir with the musician Robin Servant."

"Isaiah Ceccarelli. Born Chetwynd, British Columbia, Canada, 1978. Residence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (drum set, percussion).

Isaiah Ceccarelli is a drummer, improviser, and composer based in Montréal. His music has been qualified as "one of the most original approaches to come through our offices in recent times" (Marc Chénard, La Scena Musicale) and he has been described as possessing "a writing style with rare personality in this musical context" (Thierry Lepin, Jazzman Magazine). He participates in numerous creative music projects with Michel F Côté, Pierre-Yves Martel, Lori Freedman, Jean Derome, Bernard Falaise, Joshua Zubot and Philippe Lauzier, amongst others. He plays with Félix Stüssi and Ray Anderson, as well as with the Acadian singer Marie-Jo Thério. Proud ambassador of a new generation of creative musicians in Québec, his collaborations have led him on tour in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia. Isaiah has composed music for two of his own albums, Bréviaire d'épuisements and Lieux-dits (both on the Ambiances Magnétiques label), and for ensembles and musicians such as Quatuor Bozzini, Ensemble Allogène, the violist Jennifer Thiessen, and Ensemble Kô. He sings with the Schola Saint-Grégoire (Gregorian chant).

A seasoned musician and composer, Isaiah Ceccarelli is, in the words of Charles Collard from La Scena Musicale, "a jewel in the crown of the Montréal scene and his presence is felt on several fronts at the same time."

"Michel F Côté. Born Montréal, Québec, 1958. Residence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (percussion).

Half a century later, now a grown-up, he still doesn't understand why he chose a career as a musician and composer instead of something else. With fluidity and idiocy, he gets involved with whomever he wants, thus avoiding any and all reductive labeling attempts. A Montréaler and a co-founder of the &records label, he stumbles around in various bands: bob, Klaxon, Pink Saliva, (juste) Claudette, and Mecha Fixes Clock. A designer associated with stage arts, he refuses to grow softer. As proof, in dance he adds his ear to the choreographies of Catherine Tardif, Sylvain Émard, Louise Bédard, Shanti Wadge, and José Navas; in theatre, he scratches his head alongside Wajdi Mouawad, Robert Lepage, Brigitte Haentjens, Éric Jean, and Martin Faucher. So what's left? He favours plants, suffers from music-loving, is rather clean overall, and tends to keep in shape."

"Jean Derome. Born Montréal, Québec, 1955. esidence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (saxophones (alto, baritone, soprano), flutes (flute, bass flute, piccolo, alto flute, recorders), keyboards, small wind instruments (ocarinas, jew's harp, game calls, toys...), percussion, invented instruments, voice)

One of the most active and eclectic musicians on the Canadian creative music scene, Jean Derome has managed to earn the recognition of a larger public, a rare feat in that field. Thanks to his large-scale musique actuelle projects, his compositions, his work as an improviser, his jazz groups and his music for the screen and the stage, Derome ranks as a major creative force, in Québec and abroad. He is experienced and innovative on both saxophone and flute, and his unique writing style cannot be mistaken for anyone else's. Sensitive and powerful, his music often features a funny strike that makes its complex nature more inviting.

Ever since Nébu (one of Québec's first avant-garde jazz groups) in the early '70s, Derome has been consistently renewing and diversifying his approach of composition. He impressed audience and critics first with the flute, then with the saxophone, as a lead character in the musique actuelle underground. He took part to the various artists' collectives looking for new ways to express themselves freely, without esthetic or social constraints, including the Ensemble de musique improvisée de Montréal. Later, in the early '80s, he co-founded Ambiances Magnétiques, a collective and record label that raised his profile at home and introduced his name to the outside world. Among his numerous projects, let us mention the duos Les Granules, Nous perçons les oreilles and Plinc! Plonc!, the dynamic group Jean Derome et les Dangereux Zhoms, and the large-scale projects Confitures de gagaku, Je me souviens - Hommage à Georges Perec and Canot-camping. Most of these projects are based on a unique form of synergy between composition, structured improvisation and genuine creative madness, all this articulated with unmatched playfulness. In 1992, Derome became the second artist to be presented with the Freddie Stone Award (bassist Lisle Ellis was the first).

Besides improvising on a regular basis with Ambiances Magnétiques' members and appearing in their projects, Derome has also shared the stage with several musicians of international stature, among others Fred Frith, Lars Hollmer, Louis Sclavis and Han Bennink. He performs regularly all over Canada, in the US and in Europe. He received a Prix Opus in 2001 for his exposure abroad.

Lately, jazz circles have been praising his undisputable qualities as a jazzman, thanks to the Thelonious Monk tribute project Évidence, the Normand Guilbeault Ensemble (whose Mingus Erectus CD is devoted to Charles Mingus' music), and the much-lauded Derome Guilbeault Tanguay Trio.

Although Jean Derome writes tirelessly for his own projects, he is much in demand in the fields of film, theatre and dance. A short list of this side of his work would have to include his numerous scores for the National Film Board of Canada (NFB), especially for films by John Walker, Jacques Leduc, Fernand Bélanger and animated films by Pierre Hébert, Michèle Cournoyer and Jean Detheux; his incidental music for Théâtre UBU, Théâtre de Quat'Sous and Théâtre du Nouveau Monde; not forgetting his work with several top choreographers, including Louise Bédard, Andrew de Lotbinière Harwood, Daniel Soulières and Ginette Laurin. Other music ensembles have commissioned works from him, including Tuyo, Bradyworks, the Hard Rubber Orchestra from Vancouver and Fanfare Pourpour. Incidentally, Derome is the musical director of the latter.

Over thirty years of music and 70 record credits later, Jean Derome still has sleeves bursting with tricks."

"Gabriel Dharmoo. Born Quebec City, Québec, 1981. Residence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (voice).

Gabriel Dharmoo's musical practice encompasses composition, improvisation and the research of South Indian Carnatic music.

As a composer, he has studied composition and analysis at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal with Serge Provost and finished his studies with a "Prix avec grande distinction", the highest honour to be awarded. He has worked with emerging and established Canadian ensembles (ECM+, SMCQ, Soundstreams, Gryphon Trio, Aventa, Arraymusic, Motion Ensemble) as well as with Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart from Germany. His works have been performed in Canada, the USA, France, Germany, Australia, Singapore and South Africa. In addition to winning 6 prizes from the SOCAN Foundation Awards for Young Composers, he was awarded the 2011 Fernand-Lindsay Prix d'Europe composition prize and the Canada Council for the Arts' 2011 Robert Fleming Prize. He is an associate composer at the Canadian Music Centre as well as a member of SOCAN and the Canadian League of Composers.

Having researched Carnatic music with 4 renowned masters in Chennai (India) in 2008 and 2011, his personal style explores the theme of post-exotism and the interplay between tradition and novelty.

As a vocal improviser, Gabriel has sung across Canada (Montreal, Québec, Vancouver, Banff) and in Berlin, Germany. In 2013-14, a development grant from the Canada Council for the Arts allowed him to work with vocalists Phil Minton (UK) and Ute Wassermann (Germany), as well as yodel and overtone specialist Christian Zehnder (Switzerland) and beatboxer Shlomo (UK). Inspired by contrasting vocal expressions in different cultures in time and space, he conceives his voice as both a raw and a sophisticated instrument. His musical language is a blend of diverse classical, avant-garde and traditional elements, mediated by an interest in linguistics and ethno/zoomusicology."

"Géraldine Eguiluz. Born Tenochtitlan, Mexico. Residence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (voice, guitar, trumpet, percussion).

Voice of the earth, with echoes of jazz and south-american music, making nymphs and spirits of the ages come to life, Géraldine Eguiluz has created music for the last twenty five years in the heart of transformation, idioms and languages, people and memories. She is related to experimental scenes, performance, improvisation, actual music and jazz in Mexico, Montréal and New York. Her music has Latin-American, Afro-American, Aboriginal and contemporary printed sounds. Eguiluz's collaborations with multidisciplinary artistis include video, theatre, danse and circus, electronics and multimedia. She is related among composers and performers that privileges acoustic and natural sounds and instruments. She also paints, writes and makes photography, which are present mediums in her performances. She has produced her recordings, in Mexico with the group Tritonia, Cirrus (1997), Prisma (1998) Aramat (2000) and lately her Canadian recordings Time of Light (2010), Rubedo'ro (2014), Nigredo-Lunas Negras (2015), Paso Doble (2015), Ontologies (2017).

Earth resident, Géraldine is born in México in 1969, and also grew up in Colombia, Portugal and France. She emmigrates with her daughter to Québec city in 2006 and moved to Montréal in 2011 where she still lives dedicated to creation."

"Lori Freedman. Born Toronto, Ontario, Canada, 1958. Residence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (clarinet, bass clarinet)

Qualified as "a musical revolutionary in the front ranks of the avant-garde" by Alex Varty of the Georgia Straight (Vancouver), Lori Freedman (clarinets) is internationally recognized as one of the most creative and provocative performers. She is a member of a select group known as "renaissance musicians" as her artistic activities cover many fields: performer of written music (well over one hundred works have been written for or premiered by her), composer, improviser, teacher, and on occasion, writer. While managing a full performance schedule of more than 75 public appearances a year, Freedman has been receiving commissions to write music for ensembles such as Orkestra Futura, Arraymusic Ensemble, Ensemble Transmission, Continuum Contemporary Music Ensemble, Ensemble SuperMusique, Ensemble Paramirabo, Upstream Orchestra, Queen Mab Trio, Crowbar Trio, Lott Dance, Oberlander Films, Foresite Theatre, Cooke Productions and Autumn Leaf Productions. Her current discography comprises over 59 recordings, the most recent of which include Greffes (Empreintes digitales), On No (Mode Records), Bridge (Collection QB), Plumb (Barnyard Records), 3 and À un moment donné (Ambiances Magnétiques), Huskless! (Artifact), See Saw and Thin Air (Wig). Highlight collaborations include work with Rohan de Saram, Barre Phillips, Helmut Lachenmann, Frances-Marie Uitti, Monique Jean, Joëlle Léandre, Axel Dörner, George Lewis, the Jack Quartet and Richard Barrett."

"Kathy Kennedy is a sound artist with formal training in classical voice and visual art. Her practice is a lifelong study of the voice and its interface with technology, identity and public space. She has been deeply involved in community art, and is a founder of the digital media center for women in Canada, Studio XX, as well as the innovative choral group for women, Choeur Maha. Her large-scale sonic installation/performances for up to 100 singers and radio, called "sonic choreographies" have been performed internationally. She is currently on faculty at Concordia University, lectures and gives workshops on improvisation, listening, acoustic ecology and vocal empowerment.

Her solo performances include a high level of improvisation and immersion. Her installations are subtle environments that invite and incite the listener to go deeper."

"Diane Labrosse. Born Montréal, Québec, 1950. Residence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (sampler, accordion, voice).

Working mainly with electronic samplers, Diane Labrosse has a very personnal approach to sounds, exploring different textures and timbres and creating an abstract but evocative music. She is a regular on several different music scenes and has performed at internationally known festivals of musique actuelle, electronic, avant-garde and improvised music all over the world (Canada, USA, Europe, Japan, Australia).

Her most recent projects take different forms: Endangered Species, a sound and visual installation/performance based on obsolete objects such as rotary dial phones and ticking alarmclocks; Dactylotactiles, performance for 3 typewriters and live video (Sébastien Cliche); Petit Bestiaire, naïve songs for a quintet (texts by Guy Marchamps); Sagesse pratique, a series of miniature pieces based on proverbs and O.V.N.I., a sign language for an improvising orchestra of variable sizes.

As a composer, using conventionnal or graphic scores, she wrote for many different ensembles: Array Music and The Burdocks (Toronto), L'Ensemble SuperMusique and Espaces Sonores Illimités (Montréal), NOW Orchestra and 999 years of Music, (Vancouver). She also wrote for less conventionnal instruments, such as ship horns (Harbour Symphonies), train whistles, air bottles and toy pianos. She worked with director Robert Lepage and co-signed (with percussionist Michel F Côté) the music for two of his plays: La Géométrie des miracles and Zulu Time.

As sound designer, she created music for dance (Louise Bédard, Crystal Pite, Andrew Harwood, Marc Boivin, Deborah Dunn, Catherine Tardif, Harold Rhéaume, Richard Siegal), film (Montréal vu par..., Pendant que les arbres tombent, L'Entrevue, Plan de fuite) and radio (Le Navire Night, Les Décrocheurs d'étoiles) and theatre (Nuit d'orage, Je suis d'un would-be pays, Bliss, 38 Contes shakespiriens...).

She has created multimedia installations for Danish company Tura-ya-moya (in situ performances in an old chalk mine), and Scottish-based Theatre Cryptic (Wall of Secrets in situ installation for 20 speakers) as well as the Centre de Musique Canadienne (a sound garden playing ramdom sound tracks on surround speakers).

In 1980, she founded Productions SuperMémé/SuperMusique with Joane Hétu and Danielle P Roger. She remained Co-Artistic Director of this company presenting many concerts and events of innovative music from 1980 to 2008. With long-time colleagues Hétu and Roger she created the groups Wondeur Brass, Justine, and Les Poules. She collaborated with many musicians such as Jean Derome, Pierre Tanguay, Michel F Côté, Martin Tétreault, Ikue Mori, Philippe Lauzier.

Her discography comprises more than 50 recordings mostly recorded on Montreal based label Ambiances Magnétiques. She has received several grants from Canada Arts Council as well as Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec."

"Elizabeth Lima. Born Quebec City, Québec, 1981. Residence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (clarinet). Known for Ample et de l'Ensemble Kô."

"Alexandre St-Onge. Born Montréal, Québec, 1976. Residence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (double bass).

Alexandre St-Onge is an audio artist, a musician/improviser (acoustic bass, bass, voice and electronics) and a sound performer. He has studied literature and philosophy and he is currently doing his PhD in art. He is fascinated by creativity as a pragmatic approach of the ineffable and he has released seven solo CDs: Entités (Oral), Joseph Carey Merrick (Oral), Mon animal est possible (Alien8 Recordings), L'amitié ou les rumeurs insoutenables du désir (Squint Fucker Press), kasi naigo (Squint Fucker Press), Une mâchoire et deux trous (Namskéio Records), Image/négation (Alien8 Recordings). He also plays in quite a few bands, including Et Sans, K.A.N.T.N.A.G.A.N.O., Klaxon Gueule, Pink Saliva, Mineminemine, Shalabi Effect and Undo. As a composer he has worked for interactive/mixed-media company kondition pluriel, as well as composing for artists such as Marie Brassard, Karine Denault, Lynda Gaudreau, Line Nault, Jérémie Niel, Maryse Poulin and Mariko Tanabe."

"Born Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France, 1981. Composer, performer (baritone saxophone).

Ida Toninato is a saxophonist whose solid technique allows him to rub shoulders with the great masters of the contemporary repertoire (Berio, Stockhausen, Grisey) while creating a new repertory with composers, both young and seasoned. To date, she has created a dozen works dedicated to him for baritone saxophone, his instrument of predilection. If mixed music (acoustic instrument with electronic processing in real time or delayed) is his main discipline, his lyricism and his passion also lend themselves to more classical influences ('poignant saxophone', Victor Swoboda , The Gazette, 7 January 2011, about New Work - La La Human Steps ), interdisciplinary collaborations and the exploratory bursts of improvised music. From 2010 to 2012 she joined the La La La Human Steps dance company for New Work's world tour, performing Gavin Bryars' original music on stage at prestigious theaters such as London's Sadler's Wells, the Kremlin Moscow and the Palais des Festivals in Cannes and the BBC studios in London. Back in Montreal, she signed the design and creation of Totem Contemporain 's first young audience show , which promotes composer Jean-François Laporte 's new musical instruments and sound generators. She then joined the Theater troupe L'instant for three weeks of performances at the Théâtre Denise-Pelletier in the play La Fête à Jean written by Pier-Luc Lasalle . She is currently collaborating with composers Giorgio Magnanensi , Gabriel Dufour-Laperrière and Serge Provost for the composition of new works for saxophone, electronic processing and video. She is a founding member of the ensemble La Machine , with contemporary consonances tinged with rock. She is preparing to complete her doctorate in performance at the University of Montreal and is a student researcher at CIRMMT in the field of extensive performative practices."

"Joane Hétu. Born Montréal, Québec, 1958. Residence: Montréal, Québec. Composer, Performer (alto saxophone, voice), Author/

It has been more than 30 years now since self-taught composer, vocalist and saxophonist Joane Hétu has been following her own highly distinctive path through the vast territory of creative, contemporary music. From her beginnings with song-based new-rock bands such as Wondeur Brass, Justine and Les Poules, Hétu turned to composition (the evocative triptych comprising Musique d'hiver, Filature and La femme territoire ou 21 fragments d'humus) and improvisation, more often than not combining both within her general approach to music. She has co-directed the Ensemble SuperMusique since its founding in 1998, as well as the weekly series Mercredimusics since 2002. More recently she gave birth to La chorale bruitiste Joker (2012). Joane Hétu was awarded the prestigious Freddie Stone Award in 2006."