Colombian pianist whose career encompasses a deep commitment to performance, collaboration, and education. He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in piano at EAFIT University under the mentorship of Claudio Suzín and Blanca Uribe, graduating with honors. In 2018, Mora completed his Doctor of Music (DMus) in Performance – Piano at the Université de Montréal with Mme. Maneli Pirzadeh.

Mora’s passion for vocal music has shaped his artistic journey. He has participated in renowned courses and festivals in Canada and France, working with mentors such as Jeff Cohen, Dalton Baldwin, Christian Ivaldi, Gabriel Tacchino, Francis Perrón, David Lutz, and François Le Roux. He has also worked with eminent pianists, including Julian Martin, Marc Durand, Robert McDonald, and Luiz de Moura Castro.

His performance career includes appearances at some of Colombia’s most distinguished venues. He debuted at Bogotá's Teatro Mayor Julio Mario Santo Domingo alongside bass-baritone Valeriano Lanchas. He has also served as pianist for productions of Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro at Teatro Metropolitano in Medellin and Bartók’s Bluebeard’s Castle at Teatro Colón in Bogota.

Since 2018, Juan David Mora has been a full-time professor of piano and chamber music in the undergraduate and master’s programs at EAFIT University in Medellín.

Juan David Mora was generously supported by the Cyril and Elizabeth Challice Fund for Musicians.

Jihong Son, a tenor trombonist from South Korea, is currently pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts and Master of Chamber Music degrees at the University of Michigan (USA) under David Jackson's guidance and studying with Ohtae Kwon at the Los Angeles Brass Academy. He began to play the trombone at the age of nine and gained public recognition by his first solo debut through the Kum-ho Music Prodigy Audition in South Korea. Winning many national competitions, he moved to the United States for his further musical studies. Since then, Son has showcased his talent as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral musician, participating in numerous competitions as a finalist, summer festivals as a fellow, concert tours, and recording projects. He recently played with Detroit Opera and Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and every summer, as a founding member of the Pacific Trombone Project, he performs and records commissioned works with professional trombonists in Asian and Pacific Countries. He has had many opportunities to perform and learn from world-renowned trombonists in masterclass settings as well. Son earned his Master of Music degree at Rice University and Bachelor of Music degree at Oberlin Conservatory of Music, graduating with honors.

Jihong Son was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Fiona Shonik is a recent graduate of Northwestern University, where she earned a double major in Classical Trumpet Performance and Entrepreneurship & Organizational Strategy, graduating summa cum laude with Northwestern’s Undergraduate Leadership Certificate. Her primary teachers include David Bilger, Thomas Rolfs and Michael Sachs.

An avid chamber musician, one of Fiona’s highlights at Northwestern was performing with her brass quintet, On the Spot Brass. She has spent summers as a fellow at the Aspen Music Festival, Chautauqua Institution, the National Symphony Orchestra Summer Music Institute and the National Brass Ensemble Academy.

Fiona is the recipient of the 2021 International Trumpet Guild Award, the 2020 Marguerite Suozzi Music Scholarship, and the 2020 New York State Council of Administrators of Music Education Award. In 2024, she was awarded an Undergraduate Research Grant at Northwestern for her independent study on the relationship between environment and musicians' well-being, conducting fieldwork in Hawaii to explore how natural surroundings influence artistic identity, mental health and creative performance. Passionate about new music and interdisciplinary collaboration, she has commissioned several works and enjoys exploring innovative programming in performance contexts. She is also deeply interested in the intersections of philosophy, psychology and religion, particularly in how they shape human perception and experience.

Outside of music, Fiona is a headshot and portrait photographer who loves solo travel and spending time outdoors. She enjoys hiking, writing and high-adrenaline activities like playing ice hockey and bungee jumping. Fiona is originally from Long Island, New York.

Fiona Shonik was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

DJ Combs is a trombonist who has performed around the world, from San Diego to New York City, Jazz à Vienne in France, The Montreax Jazz Festival in Switzerland and the Umbria Jazz Festival in Italy.

DJ has been involved in music since he was young. Starting at age 7, his first instrument was piano. As he grew, he also studied violin, string bass, trombone, euphonium and tuba. For nearly a decade, DJ has played trombone in jazz bands, orchestras, brass quintets, marching bands, and more.

Currently pursuing a master’s degree in music, DJ plays in various ensembles at the Lynn Conservatory of Music. Additionally, he has performed under the baton of Sir Donald Runnicles during the Montana Youth Symphony’s visit to the Grand Teton Music Festival. DJ holds a bachelor’s degree in music from Utah State.

When not in the practice room or at the concert hall, DJ is an avid hiker, rock climber, loves making delicious food from around the world at home, and is learning how to knit. DJ feels most alive when he is high up on the side of a mountain and loves to take pictures of his travels and the beauty of nature.

DJ Combs was generously supported by the Banff Cetnre Artists' Awards.

Cassandra Wolff is a freelance percussionist and musician from St. Catharines, Ontario. She holds a Master’s degree in Performance from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor’s degree in Performance from Wilfrid Laurier University. She also holds a Diploma in Chamber Music from Laurier. She studied under the tutelage of Aiyun Huang, Beverley Johnston, Charles Settle, Ryan Scott, Brennan Connolly, and Dave Campion during these post secondary educations.

Cassandra thrives as a musical artist, enjoying many different styles of music from classical to modern, and continues to expand her horizons and abilities to as many genres as she can. As an orchestral percussionist, Cassandra has played with many orchestras across the Kitchener-Waterloo and the Greater Toronto areas, and toured Canada in both 2023 and 2024 as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. As a contemporary artist, Cassandra has performed with the NME ensemble at the Glenn Gould School, and in 2022, she won the NUMUS Emerging Improvisers Competition; she improvised alongside Ben Grossman and Kathryn Patricia Cobbler in their Double Bill show.

When she’s out of the practice rooms or not performing, Cassandra can be found reading a good book and drinking a good hot chocolate. 

Cassandra Wolff was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Originally from Montreal, Caroline Milot has participated in numerous radio-broadcasted concerts across the American and European continents as a chamber musician or principal chair in various orchestras. With her trio Klimt, based in the United States, she won two of the most prestigious chamber music competitions in North America, namely the Coleman Chamber Ensemble Competition in Los Angeles and the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

After being a fellow at various festivals in Canada, the United States, and Germany, her career has taken her to perform all over the world, touring with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, the Orchestre Métropolitain, the chamber orchestra Les Violons du Roy, the Ensemble contemporain de Montréal +, the Jeunesses musicales du Canada, and the Quatuor Ponticello, a cello quartet. In addition to a self-titled album she recorded with this ensemble, Caroline Milot has played on over twenty albums to accompany international artists such as Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Kent Nagano, Gino Quilico, André Gagnon and Raphael Payare, with ATMA, Analekta, and Deutsche Grammophon.

Caroline Milot was generously supported by the N. Murray Edwards Family Fund.

Ben Gannon was generously supported by the Richard and Sidney Killmer Oboe Endowment Fund

Ben Gannon is an Irish oboist known for his thoughtful musicianship and versatility as a performer. In March 2025, he made his solo debut with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, performing Françaix’s L’Horloge de Flore under the baton of Stephen Bell.

A finalist in the Irish Freemason’s Young Musician of the Year 2019, Ben has received support and recognition from the Willem Mengelberg Fund of the Concertgebouworkest, the Trench Award at the Birr Festival of Music, the Arts Council of Ireland, and Music Network Ireland.

He has performed with Camerata Ireland, the Ulster Orchestra, Irish Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra. His engagements have taken him to leading venues including Carnegie Hall, Het Concertgebouw, the National Theatre of São Carlos, and Ireland’s National Concert Hall, with recent festival appearances at Birr and Clandeboye in 2023.

Ben holds a Bachelor of Performance with First Class Honours and a Licentiate from the Royal Irish Academy of Music, and a Master of Music from the Conservatorium van Amsterdam. He is a Howarth of London Artist and plays on an XM model oboe.

Ben Gannon was generously supported by the Richard and Sidney Killmer Oboe Endowment Fund.

Andrés Romero is a Colombian violinist with a deep passion for chamber and symphonic performance. Since 2020, he has participated in various orchestras, ensembles, and music festivals in Canada, with notable engagements including Symphony New Brunswick, Tutta Musica Orchestra,Orchestre de la Francophonie  and special projects at Moncton University. In Colombia, he performed with esteemed organizations such as the Bogotá Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Bogotá, and the Youth Philharmonic of Colombia.

Currently, Andrés teaches violin at Sistema  New Brunswick in Moncton, where he shares his expertise and inspires young musicians.

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance from the Conservatory of the National University of Colombia and a violin Performance Master’s degree from the University of Montreal.

Andrés Romero Guzman was generously supported by the N. Murray Edwards Family Fund.

Alexander Meagher is a versatile and dynamic Australian percussionist from Melbourne/Naarm who enjoys surprising audiences with unique repertoire to create exciting and evocative performances. While classically trained from both the University of Melbourne and the Australian National Academy of Music, he enjoys the multifaceted nature of percussion and is adaptable to all sorts of situations, as a soloist or ensemble member, from early music and exciting rhythms to sweet melodies, harmonies and experimental performance theatre.

Alexander is passionate about music that is energetic or transportive, and has performed in (amongst other things) Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Victoria, Asia TOPA, Speak Percussion, Astra Chamber Music Society, APRA Music for Screen Awards, CLOC Musical Theatre, Victorian Opera, Adelaide Festival, and as a session musician for dance projects and film. Recent performance highlights include performing in the Asia TOPA commission “Opera for the Dead”, presenting his original work “A Brilliant Seagull” as part of Speak Percussion’s Bespoke Artist Program, playing bodhrán in “Come From Away”, and being the Foley Artist Fish in “The SpongeBob Musical”. Alexander also trains in the Brazilian martial art of capoeira and hopes to one day be a musician in Cirque du Soleil.

Alexander Meagher was generously supported by the Banff Centre Artists' Awards.

Aaron McDonald is currently pursuing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of British Columbia under the instruction of Jose Franch-Ballester. Originally from Joplin, Missouri, he completed his undergraduate studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music under the instruction of Richard Hawkins. During his Master’s at the University of Kansas he took supplemental lesson with Silvio Guitian. While in Kansas he played with the Kansas City Symphony and worked closely with those in the ensemble. During his Master’s he found a love for teaching that he hopes to pursue as a career as a university professor. Aaron has found himself performing chamber and orchestral music internationally alongside groups such as Imani Winds and the Zodiac Trio. In addition, he frequently works with composers to premiere their works. When not playing the clarinet Aaron enjoys playing tennis, reading, and writing poetry. 

Aaron McDonald was generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music.