Ben Grossman (Regular Guest)
Musician, Sound Artist & Composer Ben Grossman is a busy improviser, studio musician, composer, and noisemaker. He works in many fields, having played on over 100 CDs, film and television soundtracks, and live performances spanning early medieval music to experimental electronics. He also creates compositions and sound design for theatre, dance, installations, and radio transmission. Ben’s tools of choice are electronics, percussion, and especially the vielle à roue (hurdy-gurdy)—a contemporary electro-acoustic string instrument with roots in the European Middle Ages. Through extended techniques and electronic processing, Ben uses the instrument as a physical interface for sound creation, spontaneous composition, and the exploration of acoustics and extended aesthetics.
Romina Di Gasbarro (Regular Guest)
Soprano, Guitarist & Songwriter Romina Di Gasbarro began singing by learning Italian folk songs on her father’s lap as a child. She performed with rock, funk, and jazz groups while completing a degree in classical guitar at The University of Western Ontario. Encouraged by the voice department, Romina studied opera through the Artist Diploma in Voice Performance, followed by four years in Italy where she was awarded a scholarship to study under Victoria de los Angeles at the Chigiana Musical Academy of Siena. In the United States, Romina debuted roles such as Desdemona (Otello), Mimì (La Bohème), Michaela (Carmen), and the Sorceress (Dido and Aeneas) to critical acclaim.
As a composer, she studied with Jack Behrens, David Myska, Linda C. Smith, Michael J. Baker, Donatoni, Luciano Berio, David Mott, and Michael Coghlan. Following her original dream, Romina formed her own group, recording the EP Little Rome and her 2010 debut album, Poem. Her music has received critical recognition, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, which helped fund her music production and renowned concerts at the Glenn Gould Studio. She regularly collaborates with bassist Andrew Downing, guitarist David Occhipinti, and the Vesuvius Ensemble.
Andrea Casciato
Classical Guitarist, Composer & Educator Andrea Casciato studied classical guitar at the Royal Conservatory of Music. Over the years, he has been involved in many genres of music and has performed in various settings across the GTA. He has a deep interest in music pedagogy and is an experienced in-studio guitar teacher. When he is not busy teaching, he writes music for solo guitar. His original compositions have been published in the Royal Conservatory of Music guitar series.
Louis Simão
Multi-Instrumentalist, Composer & Recording Artist Award-winning Canadian musician Louis Simão has been composing, performing, and recording in a variety of genres for over twenty years. He has performed and recorded with Nelly Furtado, Kiran Ahluwalia, Dominic Mancuso (2010 JUNO winner), Bïa, Michael Occhipinti’s Sicilian Jazz Project (2009 JUNO nominee), Justin Rutledge, Guinga, Sophie Milman, Tapestry New Opera Works, and Eliana Cuevas, among many others. Described as “utterly unique” by CBC Radio One, Louis won Song of the Year at the 2017 International Portuguese Music Awards and was named World Solo Artist of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards for his first solo release, A Luz (The Light). In 2018, he was nominated for World Beat Artist of the Year by the Independent Music Awards. He is currently completing his next album.
Tommaso Sollazzo
Mandolinist, Zampogna Player & Educator Tommaso Sollazzo graduated in mandolin at the Salerno Conservatory of Music in Italy under the guidance of Maestro Mauro Squillante. He approaches the bagpipe (zampogna) from a Lucanian perspective, learning from elderly players of the popular tradition in his home territory of Cilento. He collaborates with numerous artists and organizations, including Nando Citarella, the Neapolitan Mandolin Academy, Vesuvius Ensemble, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Oviedo, and the Wind Orchestra of the Bellini Conservatory of Catania.
Tommaso has performed concerts across China, Japan, Spain, Germany, France, Montenegro, Canada, and throughout Italy. In 2007, he co-founded the ethnic music group Kiepò, releasing three albums. In 2016, he began teaching popular aerophones at the ethnic music department of the Salerno Conservatory. He has also participated in recordings for Brilliant and Phonotype Records, the first European record company founded in Naples in 1902.