Described by the Los Angeles Times as playing with "blazing enthusiasm, power, and technical  assurance,” Canadian pianist, Micah Yui, has had a versatile performance career.

Yui made her solo recital at the age of ten and orchestral debut at the age of thirteen in Canada.  She has given solo recitals around the world, including venues in Zurich, Tokyo, New York,  Toronto and Copenhagen. Yui has given radio performances on CBC, NHK, and WQXR and  orchestral performances with the Syracuse, Edmonton, Victoria, Montreal Metropolitan, Asheville, and Baltimore Chamber orchestras. As a chamber musician, Yui has performed with many of the preeminent performing artists in the country. She is the recipient of three Canada Council grants, two Ontario Arts Council grants, the Alberta Achievement Award and the Edmonton Civic Award. Her recording with the London Symphony of Ernest Bloch’s concerto  symphonique and scherzo fantasque won “Record of the Year” from Stereophile Magazine.

Yui is passionate about impacting the lives of young people of all ages and levels through music. She has been on the faculty at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, the Peabody Institute, Music Institute of Chicago, and the Heifetz Institute. Her students have won numerous national and international competitions and have been accepted into prestigious music conservatories and schools of music around the country. Yui is currently on the piano faculty at the Colburn School in both the Academy and the Community School teaching studio piano and chamber music. At the Colburn School, she created the Piano Camp Intensive, a unique summer piano camp for young piano students ages nine to thirteen. She is also the founder and co-director the Colburn Summer Piano Seminar for advanced high school pianists which will be collaborating with Tonebase this summer. She is regularly invited to judge in competitions and most recently was on the screening jury for the Esther Honens International Piano Competition.

Born in Japan of Korean heritage, Yui immigrated to Canada at the age of eight. She is the graduate of the Juilliard School, Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto, University of Toronto, and the Peabody Conservatory. She has worked with many musicians who have impacted her playing and teaching. Her most influential private teachers were Leon Fleisher, Bella Davidovich, Marietta Orlov, and her first teachers, Boris Zarankin and Inna Perkis. She has also worked extensively with Giovanni Valentini in Pesaro, Italy. She spent six summers at the Banff Arts Centre where she worked on solo and chamber repertoire with Menahem Pressler as well as with John Perry. Her love of lieder has led her to work with renowned lieder pianist, Graham Johnson.

Yui currently lives in Los Angeles

Jennifer Podemski is a director, writer, producer, and actor. Hailing from Toronto but calling Barrie, Ontario, her home, Jennifer's artistic journey has been shaped by her rich Anishinaabe (First Nation) and Ashkenazi (Jewish) heritage. 

A registered member of Muscowpetung Saulteux Nation in Saskatchewan, Jennifer has dedicated her career to amplifying authentic Indigenous stories and perspectives through her work as a storyteller.

Jennifer's acting career took flight with a standout performance as Sadie in Bruce McDonald's iconic film, Dance Me Outside. This breakthrough role garnered critical acclaim and solidified her position as a prominent figure in Canada's film and television canon.

Committed to addressing the underrepresentation of Indigenous voices in the entertainment industry, Jennifer pivoted to producing in 1999. She co-founded Big Soul Productions, a ground-breaking Indigenous-owned and operated full-service film and television production and post-production company. The company went on to produce an array of compelling content, including documentary television series, scripted short films, and the highly praised, all-Indigenous dramatic television series, Moccasin Flats, which aired on Showcase Television and APTN.

In 2005, Jennifer branched out independently, establishing Redcloud Studios Inc., where she continues to create, produce, write, and direct remarkable content. Notable works under her belt include five seasons of the captivating paranormal television series, The Other Side, and the award-winning feature film, Empire of Dirt, dramatic series Rabbit Fall and Unsettled, award winning documentary series Future History and most recently, the award-winning, critically acclaimed limited series Little Bird for Crave and APTN.

Alongside her career as a director and producer, Jennifer has maintained a presence on screen as an actor most notably on shows like Degrassi TNG, Sarah Polley’s Take This Waltz, Blackstone, Hard Rock Medical, Cardinal, the new Crave comedy series Don’t Even, and the debut feature film from directors Eva Thomas and Ryan Cooper. Among her proudest achievements is her leading role in Empire of Dirt, which earned her a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and recognition for Best Screenplay, breaking barriers for Indigenous women in the industry.

Beyond her artistic endeavors, Jennifer's passion for empowering Indigenous voices led her to establish The Shine Network Institute in 2020, a Canadian not for profit dedicated to advancing the careers of Indigenous women within the screen, media, and creative arts sectors.
Jennifer continues to build capacity and strive for equity and inclusion of Indigenous people within Canada’s screen sector.

Photo by Doug Bedard

Sarah Donahue is a producer and project manager based in San Francisco, California. Most recently, she worked as Operations Director for the Kronos Quartet and Kronos Performing Arts Association, where she managed the logistics and execution of the Quartet’s extensive touring schedule. She enjoyed working on major institutional projects like the group’s 50th anniversary season (KRONOS Five Decades) and free-access string quartet library (Kronos Fifty for the Future). One of her favorite parts of the job was organizing dozens of educational residencies around the globe, supporting Kronos’ strong commitment to mentorship. Sarah holds a Bachelor of Music in cello performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.