Michael Hidetoshi Mori is an artist and opera director known for genre-defying work. His bold productions include RUR: A Torrent of Light (MCANA 2023 Best New Opera), Forbidden with Persian classical and hip hop artists, and Shanawdithit, a landmark Indigenous-led opera. He has collaborated with punk band Fucked Up and led tech-driven innovations like cue-able wearable-tech. A two-time recipient of Canada’s highest award for opera direction, he also co-founded the Women in Musical Leadership program. Michael is General Director of Tapestry Opera, a board director of Opera America and the past chair of the Association for Opera in Canada

After her studies of literature and art history at the École Normale Supérieure in her hometown Paris, Mariame Clément lived in the U.S.A. and in Berlin, where she did her first internships at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden.

She made her directing debut in 2004 with Rossini's Il Signor Bruschino and Puccini's Gianni Schicchi in Lausanne. She has worked in Athens (Le Comte Ory), Tel Aviv (Il Viaggio a Reims), Santiago de Chile (Lulu), Oviedo (Il Barbiere di Siviglia), Sevilla (Agrippina), Nuremberg (Le Nozze di Figaro), Essen (Le Grand Macabre, Salome), Strasbourg (La Belle Hélène, Werther, Platée, Der Rosenkavalier, La Calisto), Antwerp/Ghent (Giasone, Agrippina, Armida), Graz (Faust, Die Zauberflöte), at the Theater an der Wien (Castor et Pollux, The Fairy Queen), in Glyndebourne (Don Pasquale, Poliuto, Il Turco in Italia, Don Giovanni, Le Nozze di Figaro), at the Opéra national de Paris (Hänsel und Gretel, Cendrillon), at the Royal Opera House (L'Étoile), at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées (Il Ritorno d'Ulisse in patria), at the Semperoper Dresden (Die verkaufte Braut), at the Bregenz Festival (Don Quichotte), at the Santa Fe Opera (Carmen), at the Volksoper in Vienna (Die Lustige Witwe), and at the Staatsoper Berlin (Roméo et Juliette).

In 2014 she created Philippe Hurel's opera, Les Pigeons d'argile, at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. In 2016, she staged the French premiere of Wagner's second opera, Das Liebesverbot, at the Opéra national du Rhin. Her production of Barkouf in the same theatre in 2018 was the first performance since 1860 of this newly rediscovered major piece by Offenbach.

With Roberto Devereux in June 2024, she completed a Donizetti trilogy at the Grand Théâtre de Genève which began with Anna Bolena in 2021 and continued with Maria Stuarda in 2022.

She made her debut at the Salzburg Festival in the summer of 2024 with Les Contes d'Hoffmann.

Further projects will take her, among other places, to Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Lausanne, Paris, Chicago and Bregenz.

Banff Centre 2026 Spring/Summer Hèctor Parra is a Catalan composer living in Paris since 2002. Member of the French Academy in Rome – Villa Médicis in 2021-22, he has premiered a hundred works around the world, commissioned by institutions such as the Philharmonie de Paris, the Louvre Museum, the Munich Biennale, the Gran Teatre del Liceu, The Grand Théâtre de Genève, the Elbphilharmonie, the Cologne Philharmonie or the Guggenheim Museum in New York. From 2013 to 2023 he was composer-in-residence at the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, the Barcelona Auditorium, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Orchestre National de Lille and the Staatstheater Stuttgart. He has premiered eight operas with great public and critical success and which have had librettos by the writers Marie NDiaye, Händl Klaus, Fiston Mwanza Mujilla or Pier Paolo Pasolini/Calixto Bieito. The staging has been carried out by Bieito himself, by Milo Rau or Mariame Clément among others. He has been awarded the Grand Prix de l’Academie Charles Cros 2024, the Opera XXI Award 2023, the National Culture Award of Catalonia 2017, the Ernst von Siemens Composition Prize 2011, the 2007 Donald Aird Memorial Award of San Francisco and the 2005 Tremplin Prize of the Ensemble Intercontemporain and IRCAM, among others. His works are published by Durand/Universal Music Publishing Classical and by Editorial Tritó. Official website: hectorparra.netrts Program Info Session

Peter Rockford Espiritu is the Executive & Artistic Director of Tau Dance Theater, the only professional dance company based in Honolulu founded by a native Hawaiian.  Espiritu choreographed the stage production of Disney’s ‘The Tale of MOANA’ which world premiered on the inaugural voyage of the newest ship of its fleet, the Disney TREASURE in 2024.  Espiritu choreographed the luau at the Disney’s ‘Aulani Resort; is a seven-time Hawaii State Foundation for Culture and the Arts - Choreographic Award winner and served for 7 years as a commissioner representing dance for the Mayor’s Office of Culture and Arts in Honolulu. Espiritu was awarded a Jacob’s Pillow LAB residency for the creation of new work in February 2025; is a Western Arts Alliance – Performing Arts Discovery Fellow 2024; a WESTAF BIPOC Fellow 2024; Advancing Indigenous Performances - Native Launchpad Fellow 2023; a Dance USA Fellowship to Artists Fellow and in 2022 was awarded a prestigious Intercultural International Choreographer’s Creation Lab residency at Banff Center for the Creative Arts in Canada. The company presented 5 sold out performances at the Lincoln Center in New York City for the Festival of Firsts in 2022 and continues to be a driving force throughout the artistic realm of the greater Pacific. The company celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2026.

Chris Lorway is the President and CEO of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Chris brings senior leadership experience across a broad range of artistic disciplines in both Canadian and international contexts. Well-positioned to strengthen Banff Centre’s position as Canada’s creative leader in arts, leadership, and convening, Chris has a proved record as a global influencer in arts and culture. 

Chris is a Canadian citizen, born and raised in Cape Breton, and comes to Banff Centre from his recent position as both Executive and Artistic Director at Stanford Live in California. His artistic and community programs draw on the breadth and depth of Stanford University to connect performances to the significant issues, ideas, and discoveries of our time in a season featuring over 200 performances and events across four primary venues. 

Prior to his role at Stanford Live, Chris was Director of Programming and Marketing at The Corporation of Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall, where his focus was on developing a cohesive brand identity for the institution and ensuring that programming in the halls reflected the diversity of the city of Toronto. 

Prior to that position, he was the inaugural Artistic Director of the Luminato Festival, where he commissioned or co-commissioned nearly 50 new works from Canadian and International artists. 

Before his return to Canada in 2007, he was a consultant in the United States with AMS Planning and Research and AEA Consulting. These two roles offered him detailed insight into the governance and operations of major cultural organizations, including Carnegie Hall, New York City Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Edinburgh International Festival, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the West Kowloon Cultural District and San Francisco Opera. 

Prior to his consulting experience, he worked for Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where for two seasons he was part of the Lincoln Center Festival team. It was there he was introduced to some of the world’s top artists and companies. He also had roles in marketing and development at Lincoln Center and worked on the first phase of the $1.5 billion campus redevelopment project.

As Program Delivery Specialist, Tonya (she/her) supports the realization of Arts programming at Banff Centre through the design and creation of documents, resourcing materials, and logistic support of the Programming team and Faculty. Her role connects the dots, assisting participants, faculty, and Banff Centre staff to ensure everyone has the information and resources they need for their learning experiences.

Drew Hayden Taylor is an award-winning playwright, novelist, filmmaker and journalist. Born and living on the Curve Lake First Nation in Ontario, he has done everything from performing Standup Comedy at the Kennedy Centre in Washington D.C., to serving as Artistic Director of Canada's premiere Indigenous theatre company, Native Earth Performing Arts. The recipient of three Doctorates (Hon), he is the author of 36 books and several documentaries.

Kerry Moraes-Sugiyama is a proud member of the Tsimshian and Haida Nations from the Pacific north coast of British Columbia. With nearly two decades in Indigenous media, she has played a key role in supporting and promoting Indigenous stories across Canada and globally.

Kerry began her career at APTN in 2006 as a Programming Coordinator and held various leadership roles over the years. When she left the network in 2023, she was the Executive in Charge of Indigenous Language Programming. From 2023 to 2025 she served as the International Market Development Senior Manager at the Indigenous Screen Office - supporting filmmakers in development, production and navigating international markets.

Kerry has shared her knowledge as a guest speaker for students and emerging professionals. She is honoured to serve as faculty for the Digital Constellations: Production & Post-Production Residency 2026 at Banff Centre. There, she will support Indigenous filmmakers to develop and refine their stories, encouraging experimentation. Helps strengthen production skills and connect talent with industry opportunities.

Known for her collaborative approach and deep understanding of Indigenous media, Kerry brings insight, experience, and a passion for mentoring creative talent to every project she supports