Banff Musicians in Residence Open Studios 2

Mikołaj Rytowski is a versatile instrumentalist and sound artist rooted in percussion, diverging from conventional norms to explore sound and creativity organically. His pracice spans improvisation, composition, and collaboration, moving beyond interpretation to actively engage with the creative process. As both creator and improviser, he pushes the boundaries of percussion and electronic instruments, constantly experimenting with new combinations and sonic innovations. His work challenges traditional perceptions of percussion, reflecting a commitment to exploration and artistic expression. Since 2019, Mikołaj has been living and working primarily in Basel, Switzerland.

Mikolaj Rytowski was generously supported by the Banff Centre Endowment.

Theresa Thordarson’s boundless creative drive springs from a lifetime of musical risk-taking. Growing up in rural Manitoba, Theresa experienced an environment where the classical canon was just one of many influences. Her curiosity has led her to explore unexpected connections across disparate musical worlds. Her creations embrace playful pastoral poetry, subtle and surprising harmonies, and memorable melodies.

Theresa performs traditional, contemporary, and original music as a pianist/keyboardist, collaborator, and vocalist. Highlight performances include concerts for Westben’s Performer-Composer Residency in Campbellford ON, Winnipeg Baroque Festival, Send and Receive, Winterruption, Nuit Blanche Winnipeg, and Lethbridge’s Centric Festival. She also sings, synths, and writes adventurous pop music as one half of the duo Bicycle Face with guitarist Ava Glendinning, and released a solo chamber-folk album entitled ‘revery’ in 2024 under the name theresa thor.

A passionate educator, Theresa instructs with a flexible, student-centred approach. She has served as a sessional instructor and collaborative pianist at Brandon University and the State University of New York, Fredonia.

Theresa makes her home in Winnipeg where she hosts a lively teaching studio, many plants, and a blossoming house show series: “Closer Concerts”.

Theresa Thordarson was generously supported by the Banff Centre Endowment.

Magpie Duo (Lauren Conroy and Matthew Schultheis) is a violin-piano team celebrating the vibrant stylistic diversity of music from the 20th century to today, driven by the belief that contemporary music is a meaningful source of artistic expression and inspiration to communities. Named after the bird long known in Western folklore for its curious and obsessive trinket collecting, we weave together pieces from across generational and cultural lines, building programs around shared aesthetics and relationships between artistic voices. We design concerts to be experienced live as cohesive works, from programs involving sounds outside the typical violin-piano palette to Sunset Concerts—continuous programs that move from standard repertoire to rarely-heard contemporary offerings. Lauren is a graduate of The Juilliard School (MM ‘22) and Matthew is currently a doctoral candidate there. The duo’s 2024–25 season included performances with New Chamber Ballet in New York City and a recital at Toronto Summer Music’s season launch. Upcoming events in the 2025-26 season include the recording of the duo’s debut album in collaboration with composer/producer James Diaz, residencies at Avaloch Farm and the Banff Centre, and performances at Maine’s Mechanics’ Hall and Columbia University’s Sacred Music Series.

Matthew Schultheis was generously supported by the Banff Centre Endowment.

Violinist and arts administrator Lauren Conroy is a New York City-based musician who is passionate about performing, programming, and producing contemporary music in dynamic, multidisciplinary contexts. An avid performer of new music, she is a member of the BlackBox Ensemble and a co-founder of the Magpie Duo. She is currently the Company Manager for Ariel Rivka Dance.  
Lauren has been invited to several festivals and residencies including Toronto Summer Music Fellowship, Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra, Norfolk New Music Workshop, Bowdoin International Music Festival Fellowship, Avaloch Farm Music Institute, and The Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Lauren is a graduate of The Juilliard School where she completed her Master of Music and was the Departmental Assistant at The Juilliard School’s Center for Innovation in the Arts. After graduating from Juilliard, she then attended NYU and completed her Master of Arts in Contemporary Musical Arts Performance and Administration as a Koppenaal Scholar. At NYU, she was granted the Dean’s Award for Summer Research where she was a resident scholar at The John Cage Trust at Bard College.

Lauren Conroy was generously supported by the Banff Centre Endowment.

Praised by La Libre Belgique as an “expressive, fine chamber musician,” pianist Charlotte Tang actively performs across North America. Named a laureate of the Musica Antiqua Competition in Bruges (2024), Charlotte’s passion for early 19th-century music is well-recognized. Her recent highlights include residencies at the Banff Centre and Orford Musique, fellowship at the Gilmore Piano Festival, and performances at the Historical Keyboard Society of North America and Cornell Center for Historical Keyboards. She is looking forward to the Emerging Artist Showcase at the Early Music America Summit (Oct 2025).

Charlotte believes that music and art are integral to our development as a society, and are particularly crucial to the growth of the younger generation. She values opportunities to contribute to their artistic and pedagogical development through her work as a scholar–performer and teacher. Her research focuses on instrumental affordances as reflected in early 19th-century piano compositions, which she has passionately shared in conferences. As a pedagogue, she is a regular guest for masterclasses at universities and music communities in Ontario.

Charlotte has been mentored by Elisabeth Wright and David Breitman on the historical piano, and James Parker, Roberto Plano, and the late Marietta Orlov on the modern piano.

Charlotte Tang was generously supported by the Banff Centre Endowment.

Amy Hillis has “a rich, warm sound and has mastered the violin with such ease, that it is impossible to ignore her passion in performance” (Ludwig Van Montréal). She challenges artistic norms to build community relationships inside and outside the concert hall. As a soloist, Amy has commissioned Canadian works by Luis Ramirez, Matt Brubeck, Fjóla Evans, Gabriel Dufour-Laperrière, Laurence Jobidon, Vincent Ho, Andrew Staniland, Jocelyn Morlock, Nicole Lizée, Carmen Braden, Randolph Peters and Jordan Pal. She is winner of the Pan-Canadian Recital Tour, the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, the Canada Council Musical Instrument Bank competition on two occasions, an artistic residency at La Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, the McGill Concerto Competition, and the Sylva Gelber Foundation Music Award. A passionate chamber musician, she is a founding member of the meagan&amy duo with pianist, Meagan Milatz, and the Horizon String Quartet (HSQ) which has performed over 200 schools shows for young audiences across Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Amy is currently Associate Professor of Community Music at York University and the Artistic Director of the Women’s Musical Club of Toronto. amyhillis.com

Amy Hillis was generously supported by the Lewitt Family Foundation Artist Award.

Laura Roy is a Canadian artist, musician, and Grammy-nominated songwriter originally from Nova Scotia. Blending soulful melodies with introspective storytelling and contemporary r&b and folk influences, she has built a distinctive presence in the music industry. A 2x ECMA (East Coast Music Award) winner, she gained recognition with her breakthrough EP Forte, followed by Tides and Odyssey, which showcased her evolving artistry. Her songwriting and vocals landed her a cut on Doja Cat’s “Alone” Planet Her album, gaining a Grammy nomination.

After being based in London, UK since 2017, Laura splits her time between the UK and her home in Canada. She has worked as a vocalist and songwriter with major artists like Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, Anne-Marie, Camila Cabello, Mabel, Jordan Rakei, Lianne La Havas and JP Cooper.

With her unmistakable voice, emotive lyricism, and a gift for crafting melodies that resonate, Laura Roy continues to establish herself as one of contemporary music’s most compelling talents.

Laura Roy was generously supported by the Banff Centre Endowment.

To an ever-growing circle of fans and collaborators, SAMWOY represents a thrilling force in Canada’s music scene, smashing genre boundaries with fearless creativity. Led by Sam Woywitka, the Montreal-based project blends elements of ambient, electronic, classical, and rap, often within the same track. As Québécoise alt-pop artist Virginie B puts it: “Sam’s basically an all-encompassing hard-working music intuitive genius.”

Woywitka’s sound defies easy categorization; lush orchestration gives way to distorted drums and buzzsaw synths, while haunting lyrics explore chaos, regret, and redemption. His album, Even Sad Boys Like To Have Fun, dives even deeper into emotional extremes, featuring everything from baroque instrumentation to a blend of Montreal’s finest musicians.

Live, SAMWOY delivers unpredictable energy, moving fluidly between explosive highs and tender introspection. Much of the music reflects on Woywitka’s near-fatal car crash in his Vancouver Island hometown, drawing from trauma while never wallowing in it. Instead, SAMWOY embraces contrast between post-punk and electronica, serenity and chaos, destruction and healing.

At its core, SAMWOY is about turning disaster into beauty. For Woywitka, it’s a lifeline; for listeners, it’s a cathartic journey through the depths and heights of human experience.

Sam Woywitka was generously supported by the Banff Centre Endowment.