Afraaz Adam Alnoor Mulji

Afraaz Adam Mulji is a cultural synthesist, polymath, composer, poet, and founder of L’Académie di Polimathia. His work explores the intersections of music, culture, philosophy, cognition, and the systems through which human meaning is created and transmitted. He approaches art as both a mode of inquiry and a form of cultural stewardship, moving freely between disciplines while seeking deeper unities among them. His practice is distinguished by an interest in sonic cultures, intellectual synthesis, enlightened patronage, and the cultivation of enduring institutions. At the centre of his work is a simple ambition: to build a lasting cathedral of meaning through art, thought, and cultural imagination.

Ali Rajan

Ali Rajan is an instrumentalist who plays the rubab ( ر†با†ب†), exploring sound through musical

heritage and contemporary expression. Born and raised in Toronto, he became inspired to play the rubab in the Northern Areas of Pakistan. Ali was nominated to represent Canada at the Global Encounters Festival 2025. He now collaborates with world-renowned artists, and his work continues to be featured in events such as The Living Sea — Fragile Beauty exhibition’s Canadian debut.

Nirvana Sagar

Nirvana Sagar is a Toronto based woodwind multiinstrumentalist and composer. Nirvana’s training consists of classical, jazz, classical Indian, and free improvisation music practices throughout her training at Humber College and other institutions. After joining The Toronto All-Star Big Band in 2019, she was awarded with the Judy Reynolds award from the band’s organization. During Nirvana’s career she has played in many ensembles from jazz ensembles, pop bands, classical Indian duos, and orchestras as primarily a saxophonist doubling on flute and clarinet. Currently, Nirvana is a saxophone savant at Long & McQuade and is performing in jazz, Indian classical, and many fusion performances across the GTA. Nirvana leads her own group called the Nirvana Sagar Quintet which is a dynamic ensemble that explores experimental concepts in contemporary and modern jazz music.

Gandhaar Amin

Gandhaar began learning Indian classical music on the Bansuri at the age of four under the guidance of his father. By eight, he was touring alongside him, and at twelve, he embarked on his journey as a solo performer. Those formative years, deeply immersed in the world of Indian classical music, laid the foundation for his strong melodic sensibility.

As a teenager, Gandhaar explored a diverse range of musical styles from around the world. He spent several years playing in bands and collaborating with producers across India, eventually crafting a unique sound that blends traditional Indian melodic composition with modern electronic music production.

Since then, Gandhaar has released multiple albums and singles while also producing music for independent artists. With over a decade of experience composing background scores and songs for TV and film, he was notably a collaborator and co-composer on Inner World, the debut music album by His Holiness The Dalai Lama.

Kelsea Hopkins

Kelsea Hopkins is a Canadian-Filipino composer and double bassist currently based in Toronto. Her work seeks to combine experimental musical language with lyricism, drawing on applied misunderstandings of musical concepts. 

Hopkins has collaborated with a wide range of performers and ensembles, including the Capital Chamber Choir, the University of Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and the Her Endangered Melody Project at the Royal Northern College of Music. In 2023, she received a SOCAN Canadian Composer Award for her piece biographical sounds (2023) for mixed ensemble. Her compositions have also been recognized by the University of Toronto, the University of Ottawa, the Icarus Quartet, and the Domaine Forget de Charlevoix.

Her portfolio features works for double bass, string orchestra, SSAA choir, wind quintet, saxophone quartet, and mixed ensembles. As a performer, she is active as a double bassist performing in new music concerts, the FOMO Chinese Ensemble, and in a multi-instrumental  improvisation duo with Afraaz Mulji.

Peter Eom

Armed with a versatility of creative interests ranging from literature to fashion, cellist Peter Eom has been hailed for his “flowing, lyrical quality of sound” and “agility, purity of intonation, and sureness of taste” (Harald Eggebrecht, Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2022).

As soloist, Eom has performed with orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Denver Philharmonic, and MusicaNova Orchestra. He has given solo cello recitals of works ranging from pre-Baroque to the present day across three different continents.

Eom is the cellist of the Rolston String Quartet, first prize winner of the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition and heralded as “one of the very best in a quartet-rich age” and the cellist of the genre-defying experimental music collective The Happenstancers, which gave 5 world premieres and performed 17 living composers this past season.