A passionate communicator, Daniel brings clarity and meaning to the concert hall, fostering deep connections between audiences and performers. Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser is concurrently the Principal Youth Conductor and Creative Partner of the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Principal Education Conductor and Community Ambassador of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Artist in Residence and Community Ambassador of Symphony Nova Scotia, and Resident Conductor of Engagement and Education of the San Francisco Symphony.

He served as Assistant Conductor of the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony and Associate Conductor of the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra. Daniel has performed with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic, and was Cover Conductor with the Washington National Opera in 2020.

In the 2021 Season Daniel will debut with the Carnegie Hall Link-Up Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the Regina Symphony Orchestra, the Prince Edward Island Symphony Orchestra and the Canadian Opera Company.

Daniel is the host of Canadian Broadcasting Company’s nationally broadcast weekly radio show Centrestage.

He was also the subject of an award-winning, full-length Canadian Broadcasting Corporation documentary called Disruptor Conductor, focusing on his concerts for Neurodiverse, Prison, African Diaspora and LGBTQ2S+ populations.

Daniel earned his Bachelors in Music Performance and Education from the University of Calgary, and his Master of Philosophy in Performance from the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.

Bridie Hooper is an award-winning Australian artist and maker who champions circus within multidisciplinary and contemporary performance contexts. 
Her work reveals multi-faceted perspectives on hope, connection, catharsis and mortality, navigating universal themes through deeply personal works that challenge form, context and performer/audience relationship. Intersecting ritual, endurance and the body's potential, her performances affirm and celebrate the intricate human psyche.

Bridie’s practice is centered in circus and physical performance, but places huge value on working collaboratively with multidisciplinary forms including sound art, visual art, theatre, and participatory performance to extend, challenge and reframe her work. These engagements are built on a mutual drive to find new ways to create transformative live art experiences for audiences across theatres, galleries and public space.

Image by Billie Wilson Coffey

Keaton is a multi-disciplinary acrobat and physical theater performer whose work has taken them around the globe. They have performed with acclaimed companies including C!RCA, Broadway’s Water For Elephants, and 7 Fingers. Raised in the circus, Keaton developed an early love for chaos, community, and the creative freedom that thrives in collaborative art-making. When not on stage, Keaton can often be found at the pottery wheel, happily covered in clay, mud seems to be their natural state.Keaton extends deep love and gratitude to their family, Jessica, Mike, Terry, Mary, Eliana, Wyndon, Kellin, Daniel, and Caroline. Without their unwavering support, Keaton jokes they’d still be stuck in the mud... literally.

John de Lancie is an actor, director, producer, writer, educator, sailor, voice artist, and comedian, best known for his iconic portrayal of the omnipotent Q across multiple Star Trek series, including The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Lower Decks, Picard, and Strange New Worlds. He also appeared as Q in Star Trek: The Game Show and Star Trek: Borg, co-wrote the novel I, Q with Peter David, and narrated several Star Trek audiobook adaptations, including Q-in-Law (with Majel Barrett Roddenberry) and Dark Mirror. Outside of Star Trek, de Lancie is widely recognized for voicing Discord, a character inspired by Q, in My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (2010–2019).

His television credits include recurring roles as Colonel Frank Simmons in Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007), Donald Margolis in Breaking Bad (2008–2013), and Donald Finley in the revival series episode “The Gun.” In 1996, he co-founded Alien Voices with Leonard Nimoy and Nat Segaloff, producing a series of science fiction audio dramas, including the popular Spock vs. Q recordings, as well as televised specials for the Sci-Fi Channel. He has also appeared in concert settings, co-hosting Star Trek: The Music with Robert Picardo in 2008 and 2010, celebrating music from all eras of the franchise.

Heather Clara Young, CPB, founded Young Associates in 1993 to provide bookkeeping, payroll, training, consulting and outsourced CFO services to not-for-profits and charities, specializing in the arts and culture sector. Heather teaches accounting and financial management in Humber College’s Arts Management program, and has taught for Humber’s Fundraising and Volunteer Management program and University of Toronto’s Arts Management program. Finance for the Arts in Canada (2005, 2024) is a unique self-study guide, reference source and textbook. The book has been praised for its straightforward approach to mastering nonprofit accounting and financial management skills.

Janis Kahentóktha Bomberry is Mohawk Nation, Turtle Clan from Six Nations of the Grand River.  Janis is Executive Director and CEO of the Canadian Museums Association.  Prior to this Janis returned as the Executive Director of Woodland Cultural Centre, one of the largest First Nations- run cultural centres/museums in the country.  Previously, Janis was appointed the Director of Tourism and Cultural Initiatives for the Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation. 

Janis attended the University of Western Ontario where she attained a Bachelor of Arts in History and received a Museum Studies diploma from Algonquin College.  Janis continues to volunteer in her community at Six Nations and in Brantford, and is a recipient of the Sovereign’s Medal for Volunteers designated by the Governor General of Canada.

Jeanne LeSage's 35 year career has spanned from a decade as a stage manager (including 6 seasons at the Banff Centre),  starting the first HR department at TIFF, international postings at the Kennedy Center (DC), Abu Dhabi Film Festival (UAE), Royal Opera House Muscat (Oman), FilmAid (Haiti); and then forming LeSage Arts Management to support arts organizations in areas such as strategic HR, leadership succession, organizational development, governance, and interim management.  

Jeanne has designed and delivered leadership training across Canada and abroad: Teatro Nacional (Portugal), NEOM Cultural Leadership (Saudi Arabia), Charles University / Prague Sounds (Czechia), DeVos Institute International Arts Management Fellows (DC); at schools such as NTS, Humber, TMU; and multiple sessions with ASO’s and conferences.   

Jeanne is the author of research reports such as: “Who will lead Canada’s Performing Arts Organizations?”,“Reporting and Investigating Mechanisms for Workplace Harassment in the Arts”, and “Future of Arts Work: Board Governance in the Arts”.  

Jeanne is the recipient of Work in Culture’s 2023 Bob Johnston award and a proud co-founder of the national COVID response initiative LEAN (Leadership Emergency Arts Network).