Lauren DeLaunay Miller is a journalist and audio producer for the adventure podcast, the Dirtbag Diaries. She is the author of Valley of Giants: Stories from Women at the Heart of Yosemite Climbing (Mountaineers Books, 2022), winner of the 2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition Award for Climbing Literature, born out of her experience living and climbing in Yosemite as part of the Yosemite Valley Search & Rescue team. Lauren received a master's degree in journalism from the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism and lives in Bishop, California, with her husband, son, pup, and flock of hens. 

Rob Lovell is the publisher and chief executive of Scottish Mountaineering Press, an award winning publisher owned by the charitable Scottish Mountaineering Trust. A latecomer to publishing, Rob has run the Press since 2018, building a list spanning mountain literature, photography, fiction and guidebooks – including three category winners in the Banff Mountain Book Competition: The Great Sea Cliffs of Scotland (Mountain Image, 2021), The Fox of Glencoe (Mountain Literature, 2022) and Northern Horizons (Guidebooks, 2025). Alongside the Press, Rob is part of the team behind the Fort William Mountain Festival, running events, coordinating its marketing and helping to shape the program. A rock climber, hillwalker and mountain biker, he lives in Inverness and divides his time between books, the hills and a young family.

Balkan-born and Vancouver-based recording artist Kristian Alexandrov is an accomplished, versatile and sought after pianist, drummer, composer & producer with a burgeoning list of industry honours, high-profile collaborations and lauded international performances to his credit.

Originally from Sofia, Bulgaria, Kristian grew up in a family of musicians who revered and celebrated music.  At just six years old, Kristian was accepted into the prestigious L. Pipkov School of Music where he completed twelve years of intense, comprehensive training as a pianist and percussionist.  Kristian’s natural ability, extensive education, and passion for performance enabled him to tour throughout most of Europe before he was out of his teens. His ability to effortlessly move between different musical styles has earned him a reputation as a leading figure in Canada's music scene, where he has been active since 1995.

Onstage Kristian has worked alongside some tremendous and renowned Canadian and International artists, including:  Warren Hill, James Ehnes, Measha Brueggergosman, Jackie Richardson, Wycliffe Gordon, kd lang, The Tenors, Senator Tommy Banks, All Star Brass, Danny Nielsen, Order of Canada Big Band, Akaga, Tom Jackson and Decidedly Jazz Danceworks and Youth Singers of Calgary.  Kristian is a long-standing musical director and collaborator for acclaimed trumpeter Jens Lindemann & Acoustic Soul recording artist Shannon Gaye.  

As a featured and supporting artist, Kristian’s performance highlights include:  Seongnam Opera House (Seoul, South Korea), Beijing Exhibition Center Theatre (Beijing, China), Eilat Chamber Music Festival (Eilat, Israel), Sochi Music Festival (Sochi, Russia), Cancun Jazz Festival (Cancun, Mexico), Bansko Jazz Festival (Bansko, Bulgaria), Bulgarian Embassy (Washington DC and New York, NY), Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony (Vancouver, BC), Vibrato’s Jazz (Los Angeles, CA), International Trumpet Guild (Grand Rapids, MI), Benaroya Hall (Seattle, WA) Koerner Hall (Toronto, ON) and National Arts Centre (Ottawa), and Montreal Jazz Festival (Montreal, QC).  

Fuelled by innovation and artistic exploration, Kristian's expertise extends beyond performance into composition and production.  He has composed award-winning music for film, television, dance and live theatre, showcasing his talent for creating emotionally resonant scores.  As a recording artist, he has released two solo original CD's Funked Up Jazz and Akoustika, as well as Perched on the Edge of a Quarter Note, the soundtrack for Decidedly Jazz Danceworks touring production.  

As a producer, Kristian is known for his keen ear and attention to detail, working with artists across a variety of genres.  He's contributed to three Juno-nominated CD's:  Lauren Spencer-Smith Unplugged Vol. 1 (2020), Order of Canada Soloists Sweet Canadiana (2017), and Jens Lindemann and Tommy Banks Legacy Live (2016).  He's also a co-writer with Tate McRae for her RIAA gold-certified single One Day (2017)

Dave Pierce is an Emmy Award-winning Canadian composer, arranger, conductor, producer and performer whose career has spanned major international stages, recording studios and live spectacle. 

Known for bringing orchestral scale together with a performer’s instinct for rhythm, pacing and audience connection, Pierce has created music for Olympic ceremonies, television productions, concert events and large-scale live experiences around the world. His collaborations include work with Michael Bublé, Bryan Adams, Céline Dion, Robbie Williams, Sarah McLachlan and many others. 

A drummer and multi-instrumentalist by background, Pierce brings a distinctly physical and spontaneous approach to performance. Whether at the piano, behind the drums or leading musicians from the podium, his work is grounded in communication, curiosity and the shared energy of live music. 

For this artistic experience at Banff Centre, Pierce joins internationally acclaimed trumpeter Jens Lindemann for an evening shaped by musicianship, storytelling, improvisation and the joy of two longtime artists responding to one another in real time. 

The result is less a conventional concert than an invitation into the creative process: where virtuosity, humour, memory and musical instinct meet onstage. 

As the first classical brass soloist to ever receive the Order of Canada and the Alberta Lieutenant Governor Distinguished Artist Award, Jens Lindemann is hailed as one of the most celebrated artists in his instrument’s history and was recently named “International Brass Personality of the Year” (Brass Herald). Jens has played both jazz and classical in every major concert venue in the world: from the Philharmonics of New York, Los Angeles, London, Berlin, Moscow and Tokyo to Carnegie Hall and even the Great Wall of China. His career has ranged from appearing internationally as an orchestral soloist, being featured at the 2010 Olympics for an audience of 2 billion people, national anthems at the Rose Bowl and for the San Francisco Giants on Memorial Day, performing at London’s ‘Last Night of the Proms’, recording with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir to playing lead trumpet with the renowned Canadian Brass and a solo Command Performance for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. Jens has also won major awards ranging from Grammy and Juno nominations to winning the prestigious Echo Klassik in Germany and British Bandsman 2011 Solo CD of the year as well as receiving several honorary doctorates.

Classically trained at the renowned Juilliard School in New York and McGill University in Montreal, Jens’ proven ability to perform as a diverse artist places him at the front of a new generation of musicians. He has performed as soloist and recording artist with classical stars such as Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Angel Romero, Pinchas Zukerman, Doc Severinsen, Charles Dutoit, Gerard Schwarz, Eiji Oue, Bramwell Tovey, Kent Nagano, Lior Shambadal, Boris Brott and Jukka Pekka Saraste. Having recorded for BMG, EMI, CBC and the BBC, Jens is helping to redefine the idea of the concert artist by transcending stylistic genres and the very stereotype of his instrument by performing with “impeccable attacks, agility and amazing smoothness” (The Clarin, Buenos Aires).

A prodigious talent, Jens Lindemann performed as a soloist with orchestras and won accolades at numerous festivals while still in his teens. A prizewinner at numerous jazz and classical competitions including the prestigious ARD in Munich, Jens also placed first, by unanimous juries, at both the Prague and Ellsworth Smith (Florida) International Trumpet Competitions in 1992. Since then, he has performed solos with orchestras including, the London Symphony, Berlin, Philadelphia, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Beijing, Bayersicher Rundfunk, Buenos Aires Chamber, Atlanta, Washington, Seattle, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Montreal, Toronto, National Arts Centre, Vancouver, Warsaw, Mexico City, Costa Rica, Bogota, Welsh Chamber, I Musici de Montreal, St. Louis, and Mostly Mozart at Lincoln Center.

Heralded internationally as an outstanding artist, critics have stated: “He played with golden timbre and virtuosic flair” (New York Times)“, “a world-class talent” (Los Angeles Times), “it was one of the most memorable recitals in International Trumpet Guild history” (ITG), “performed brilliantly in the North American premiere of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Concerto with the Toronto Symphony” (Toronto Star), and “he gave the virtuoso highlight of the evening with the Montreal Symphony”.

Based in Los Angeles as Professor with High Distinction at UCLA, Jens is also the Artistic  Director  of the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival in Korea. Jens Lindemann is an international Yamaha artist playing exclusively on 24K gold plated instruments.

Aysanabee is a multi-instrumentalist, producer and singer songwriter currently based in Toronto. He is Oji-Cree, Sucker Clan of the Sandy Lake First Nation a remote fly-in community in the far reaches of Northwestern Ontario. 

On Mar 23, 2024, Aysanabee made history as the first ever Indigenous Artist to win the JUNO Awards for Alternative Album of the Year and the coveted Songwriter of the year, for Here and Now. Aysanabee won his third and fourth JUNO Awards on Mar 28, 2026 in both of his nominated categories Alternative Artist of the Year and Contemporary Indigenous Artist or Group of the Year for Edge of The Earth. 

Aysanabee has performed over 400 shows on major stages and festivals and venues across Canada and globally including Ottawa Bluesfest, Osheaga, Montréal Jazzfest, Tönder Music Festival, AmericanaFest UK, Wake the Giant, The Great Escape, Reeperbahan and more.

Double bassist, Jeremy McCoy, is the retired Assistant Principal double bass of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, he has appeared as recitalist and chamber musician at festivals across the United States, in Canada and Japan. As one of New York City’s most active commercial session players, Mr. McCoy performed as section leader or solo bass on more than fifty major motion picture soundtracks and recorded with Grammy-winning pop artists. During his years in New York, he held faculty positions at the Manhattan School of Music, Bard College Conservatory of Music, Penn State University, Montclair State University, Columbia University, the Bowdoin International Music Festival and the National Youth Orchestra of Canada. His students hold positions with orchestras throughout North America, Europe, Australia and East Asia and have made careers in both college and public school music education. Now making his home in San Antonio, Texas, Mr. McCoy teaches privately and performs both locally and away. He serves on the board of the Youth Orchestras of San Antonio and, for the 2025/26 school year, commuted weekly to Los Angeles to serve as Interim Professor at the Colburn School Conservatory.

Josh Assor is a New York City–based choreographer whose work spans Broadway, live entertainment, fashion, theme parks, cruise lines, television, and large-scale theatrical productions. Choreographic credits include the New York Knicks, Audi, Celebrity Cruise Lines, a Modos Furniture commercial, regional productions of Anastasia, Mary Poppins, Fiddler on the Roof, Cinderella, Newsies, Legally Blonde, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812, Carnival, Rock of Ages, The Wizard of Oz and Off-Broadway world premiere of Medicine. Josh also choreographed Cedar Point’s 150th Anniversary Spectacular and television series DJ Burnt Bannock.

Josh has been featured in Dance Spirit Magazine, Dance Canada Quarterly and Industry Dance Magazine.  He currently serves on faculty for both Heat Dance Convention and the Broadway Dance Center.