Ms. Lam is a professionally trained pianist who has won numerous trophies at music competitions in Asia and Canada, some of which include the first prize at the National Piano Competition in Vietnam in 1995, the third prize at the Young Talented Pianist Competition of Vietnam in 1990, First Prize in Toronto Music Competition in 2003. Recently, in 2004, Ms. Lam was chosen to participate in the Ludmila Knezkova International Competition in Bathurst, New Brunswick. She started her music training at an early age at the Southern Conservatory in Vietnam and quickly became a promising pianist featured on the national stage and television. Currently a piano instructor at York University and an affiliate teacher of the Royal Conservatory of Music, Ms. Lam works toward her M. A. degree in Music. She has been teaching piano professionally for more than 10 years and has gained a reputation of an excellent and demanding, yet very supportive and patient teacher.

Ms. Regina Lam is also an active performer at the annual recitals held at York University and other locations throughout GTA. She specializes in teaching grade 5 to ARCT level.

A versatile guitarist and percussionist, Jarek Dabrowski has performed professionally in Europe, Canada, and Asia. A freelance/session musician and a founding member of various bands and music projects in the Greater Toronto Area, including the Yellow River Ensemble, Jarek performs on both western guitar (classical and electric), Chinese zhongruan (moon guitar), drum set, and percussion instruments from around the world including African djembe, Chinese percussion, caja, and the Middle Eastern Darabuka (hand drum). An Honours and MA graduate of York University's music programme, he has an extensive background in plucked instruments and percussion from different regions of the globe, and has performed in ensembles in styles from Poland, China, Africa, the Philippines, the Middle East, Cuba, and Brazil. Currently he works with various bands and musicians around the Greater Toronto Area as a guitarist, percussionist, and arranger. He also maintains a busy teaching schedule, training students on guitar and percussion, teaching theory classes, music history classes, composition, arranging, and song writing. Up to date Jarek held teaching posts in both guitar performance and music history with the York University music department and various art and music schools within the Greater Toronto Area.

While still in his early teenage years, Jarek studied flamenco and classical guitar with the guitar educator and U of T Professor Eli Kassner. During his music studies at York University he studied jazz guitar, composition, arranging, and jazz performance with some of the most accomplished jazz musicians in Canada, including Lorne Lofsky, Brian Katz, Mike Murley, and Mark Eisenman among many. In addition, he studied briefly jazz guitar with Artur Lesicki and Jaroslaw Smietana, two of Poland's leading jazz guitarists.

As a classical guitarist, Jarek has given solo and chamber performances with numerous instrumentalists and music groups including the Silverthorn String Orchestra and Toronto's flautist, Ryerson University music Professor Dr. Kim Chow Morris.

Currently Jarek performs with numerous artists and music groups including Klezfactor (Toronto's jazz-rock-klezmer fusion group), Payatze, and his own J. Dabrowski Quartet. While in Poland he was a sideman/accompanist for singer Sylvia Nadgrodkiewicz, and played with Kazimierz Jonkisz and Marcin Jahr, two of Poland's first league jazz musicians. In 2004 he was a part of the Wa;chock Polish Folk Orchestra and had a privilege of sharing the stage with some of the region's most accomplished musicians. Jarek performed regularly with this award-winning group for four months before his duties called him back to Canada.

In China Jarek has played in Shanghai's Cotton club and on Nanjing Lu. In Canada he has served as the lead percussionist of the Toronto Chinese Orchestra, and the first European member of the ensemble.

Because of his involvement in cultural studies and ethnomusicology Jarek has developed a deep interest in the ethnic musics of East Asia, South India, and the Middle East. He studied various Chinese instruments such as erhu, zhongruan, and sheng in Mainland China with masters of each instrument, including Zhou Hao and Pan Jingeng. In addition to working as a research assistant on Jiannan Sizhou (Chinese 'Silk and Bamboo' traditional folk music), he traveled to study the indigenous musics of various cultures and traditions from China (Han, Cantonese, Ouigour), Laos, Thailand, and Cambodia. After his research in Poland he wrote a thesis dealing with the development of jazz music in the communist Poland between 1945 and 1960. In addition he wrote about jazz in China and the Ouigour traditional music found in the Xinjiang province in west China.

Some of the awards and scholarships which he has received in the recent years include the prestigious Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Award, Ontario Graduate Scholarship, a distinction award at the XIV Polish Folk Music Festival in Sienno, the Bill Chan Award, the Peggy Sampson Award, the Karabekos Award, and the Canada Music Centre Award. In 2006 he has collaborated with Ian Pun at the National Fairchild Radio Song-Writing Contest performing the song written by Ian "Riding the Subway" that was awarded with the Second place Award, The Best Lyrics Award, and The Best Arrangement Award. In the recent years Jarek has been interviewed and his music played on CBC Radio Canada, U of T Community Radio Toronto, and Fairchild Radio. He has also performed and given interviews for Fairchild TV, OMNI TV, and Global TV.

Jarek on Myspace:
http://www.myspace.com/jarekjarodabrowski
http://www.myspace.com/jarodabrowski

An Honours BFA graduate of York University, Neil Martinez has gained extensive experience in piano performance. He took up piano in childhood and quickly progressed through the RCM grades to performing advanced level repertoire in a matter of a few years. Mr. Martinez has studied with concert pianists Alma Petchersky, Antonin Kubalek, and Christina Petrowska Quilico. As well, he studied piano accompanying with Raisa Nakhmanovich, piano literature and pedagogy with Cecilia Ignatieff, and chamber music with Dr. Kim Chow-Morris. Mr. Martinez also studied clarinet in his teenage years, and has performed as a clarinettist in numerous wind ensembles, including the York University Wind Symphony. He brings his strong knowledge of ensemble playing and interaction with other instrumentalists and vocalists to his teaching. Mr. Martinez is a very patient teacher, who offers a relaxed environment yet continually encourages his students to strive towards quality and excellence.

Mr. Martinez is an active performer and is regularly involved in performances throughout the GTA. In addition to performing the standard classical repertoire, he is a strong supporter of New Music and Canadian composers, and has been involved in the premier performances of several pieces by composers in the Toronto area.

Moreover, Mr. Martinez is a skilled improviser on piano and clarinet and is a member of the Association of Improvising Musicians Toronto (AIMT). He is interested in expanding the boundaries of traditional performance and the possibilities of the instrument, and often employs extended instrumental techniques. He can be frequently heard performing at the Improv Soiree's at York University, where he correspondingly serves as the audio recording technician. His improvisations have been praised for "clarity of texture", "[using] the whole piano at once in a wall of sound [yet] all the registers of the piano are always very clear", "enviable coherency of development in the matter of phrase and chord", and being "highly creative and evocative."

Mr. Martinez is serving as organist and director of the English and Italian choirs at St. Matthew's Roman Catholic Church. He is responsible for programming music for weekly services as well as leading the choirs towards continual musical growth. It is Neil's hope that he can lead the congregation towards deeper appreciation and understanding of quality sacred music.

Neil's ensemble experience also includes performing as well as leading the pit orchestra for several local productions in musical theatre.

Among the numerous awards he received include: high marks at the Kiwanis Music Festival and other local competitions, and numerous school awards for academic excellence in achieving the highest mark within a music grade level. While studying at York University Mr. Martinez won the Nancy Scoular Underhill Piano Award for exceptional promise and ability in classical piano. Additionally, he won two years in a row: the Patricia and Robert Martin Award for outstanding achievement in adjudicated performance, and the Thomas W. Doherty Prize in Piano for outstanding performance of a contemporary work for piano.

Kousha Nakhaei is a violinist, improviser, and composer. He has studied improvisation, and classical performance, as well as Persian and South Indian musical traditions at York University where he graduated in 2005.

Also a Contact dancer Kousha has a strong interest in movement and exploring interdisciplinary creation. He has collaborated with several choreographers, dancers, poets and directors, such as Lucie Carmen Gregoire, Patty Powel, Tracey Norman, Roger Greenwald, and Jean-Michael Malpeux. He has performed at numerous venues in Toronto and many festivals including fFIDA International dance Festival, Toronto Street Festival, and Under The Azure Dome. Currently he keeps busy studying, performing and teaching.

Kousha has been teaching violin for over 4 years. The repertoire and teaching material is chosen according to students' needs and intertests, with the aim of cultivating an inner understanding and joy of music as well as natural and effortlesss technique in a positive and encouraging learning environment. He brings aspects of his experiece in improvisation, Dalcroze-Eurythmics and Alexander technique to the lesson. He enjoys working with kids and adults equally.

Phoenix, Arizona native Beth Waleski has adored music, especially classical, since she was very young. She started the flute at age 10. In her school years, she attended Northern Arizona University music camp and was in many honor ensembles.

She entered Arizona State University in the nineties as a musicology major. There, she pledged music sorority Sigma Alpha Iota and won their performance award in 1991. After her degree, she started her conducting studies, studying with the late David Epstein and Patricia Hoy, earning her Master of Music in 2002 at Northern Arizona University.

She continues to be fascinated by musical expression, flute, conducting, and every other aspect of music. Especially her fascination with expression finds its way into her teaching. Students of hers have made strides in their own expression.

She arrived in Canada in 2005 after marrying Gary Waleski. Currently, she is enjoying learning how things are done in the Canadian music scene, and earning an Ontario teaching certificate for the public schools.

Lisa has been teaching saxophone for 10 years. She studied classical saxophone at the University of Ottawa with Jean-Guy Brault, and has recorded and performed with bands and artists in genres including jazz, klezmer, rock, R&B, funk, trance and hip-hop. She has played in the Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal areas, as well as the Ottawa International Jazz Festival and the Ottawa Cisco Systems Bluesfest.

As a songwriter/composer, Lisa completed her master's degree in musical composition at York University where she was a recipient of the prestigious Canada Graduate Scholarship. She has studied with many wonderful composers including David Mott, Steven Gellman, and William Westcott. Lisa has also written music for film, including showings at the Kingston Film Festival, and the University of Southern California. As a songwriter Lisa has written, recorded and performed in many bands in rock, pop, folk, jazz, funk, electronic and world music genres.

Note from Lisa:
"I am a friendly and positive person and have experience teaching all ages (my youngest student so far began playing at 7 yrs old, my oldest was in his 80's). I strongly believe that learning music should be a fun and positive experience. Each lesson is tailored towards the individual, and we will work on anything you'd like to learn or improve on. This means we can work on sight reading, improvisation, playing technique, ear training, and music theory (including chords/modes/scales); we can also work on transcribing the songs that you want to play off of recordings and/or come up with riff or song writing ideas."