Moving Parts
Singer Bios
Annabelle Chvostek is a Juno-nominated singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and composer living in Toronto. She has released five solo albums, independently and through Borealis Records, and one album, Firecracker, as a former member of The Wailin’ Jennys. Annabelle is currently Artist In Residence with the Echo Women's Choir and is composing, arranging, and directing music for choral performance, supported by the Canada Council for the Arts. She is also composing and producing a piece for choreographer Aviva Geismar / Drastic Action (NYC), with whom she has been collaborating for well over a decade, and is writing songs for her upcoming solo album.
Thomas Hoy is a media composer working in film, theatre, dance and concert music. In 2014, he completed his music degree with a specialization in composition at Dalhousie/King’s College in Halifax, NS. There, he gained experience composing and arranging everything from a full symphony orchestra to a solo viola. His recent film credits include Pat Mills' Don't Talk to Irene and Nina Beveridge's Village of Dreams. Thomas would like to express his gratitude to all who have made Moving Parts such a wonderful and uplifting experience.
Laurel MacDonald is a singer, composer and video artist who has released four albums, all produced by her longtime creative partner Phil Strong. She has performed across Canada and the US, most recently in her Videovoce and Patchwork voice+visuals projects at MUTEK in Montreal, NXNE in Toronto, and at Sound Symposium in St. John’s, Newfoundland. She has just completed the premier tour of her new live performance production entitled She Sings as She Flies, a work integrating folk music with new music and video technology, created with project partner Mary Jane Lamond.
Rachel Melas is a reasonably competent upright and electric bass player, at it since 1975 when her grandfather bought her a Danelectro short scale bass and 2 Mel Bay instructional bass books. Thanks Bert !! Rachel likes to play Jazz, Folk and Traditional music on bass, fiddle, accordion and guitar. She plays with Cajun and Zydeco dance band Swamperella, French pop jazz band Amelie & Les Singes Bleus and Klezmer band The Horables amongst others.
Vocalist and composer Lieke van der Voort was born in The Netherlands and moved to Toronto in 2009. Her works have a heavy focus on improvisation and unconventional vocal use. She strives to combine jazz, classical music and voice, creating emotional and complex pieces. Past activities include “Endings” with Soundstreams and Jumblies theater; New Lineage at AGO; Veryan Weston’s “Make”; Schafers’ “Apocalypsis”; soundtracks of movies “The VVitch” and “Clara” and various Tanya Tagaq shows (Massey Hall, Trinity St. Paul’s United Church) with Christine Duncan's Element Choir. She leads her own Kontraband Kollektif, its debut EP “Atropos” is to be released this fall. She is artistic associate at Spectrum Music, writing for various ensembles.
Susan Slottow sings with The Echo Women's Choir and with people who get together the third Wednesday of every month to sing Shape Note music at Bloor Street United Church.
Simone Moir is a video and performing artist. She sings in Christine Duncan’s Element Choir performing frequently with Tanya Tagaq and in the 2015 staging of R.Murray Shafer’s Apocalypsis for the Luminato Festival. She toured internationally in the PME de L’art production Unreahearsed Beauty, created The Parlour of Twilight, an artist designed room for the Gladstone Hotel, and VideoStoreMakeout a flash mob performance. She keeps a private Gestalt Psychotherapy practice in Parkdale.
Leah Collins Lipsett has been singing in choirs since she was 9 years old. She holds a piano performance degree, and has also enjoyed stints accompanying, conducting, and directing choirs and other musical projects. She currently plays keytar in a band. When she’s not making music, Leah is trying to break into the book publishing industry. She moved to Toronto this summer to do just that, but she considers herself a Maritimer for life. You can find her on Twitter as @leahgcl.
SPEAK Music PR professional Beverly Kreller is passionate about music and has extensive media/artist relations, publicity, and production experience. Also a musician and singer-songwriter, she plays guitar, accordion, penny whistle, bodhran, kazoo, washboard, in old-tyme duo HOTCHA!, with husband Howard and released their album Dust Bowl Roots: Songs for the New Depression. Bev performed with and co-wrote in the now-defunct band Solstice, including on Received, produced by Phil Strong, with whom she also played in Celtic group 3 Our Tour, along with Laurel MacDonald. Bev also sings in various pop-up choirs. Past careers include actor, wigmaker, makeup artist, scenic painter.
Catherine Crowe’s singing career has been rooted in her love for the traditional music of Ireland expressed in a large repertoire of unaccompanied “sean-nos” songs. She has also expanded her interests into improvising (she has been with the Element Choir for ten years) and exploring Georgian and other polyphonic traditions with various musical friends. www.imagocorvi.wordpress.com
Linda Deshman
Michelangelo Iaffaldano is an Italian-born, Toronto-based visual artist, singer, multi-instrumentalist and instrument builder.
A US tax consultant by day, Ray Kinoshita moonlights as a singer and has been a core member of Toronto's Georgian music ensemble, Darbazi, since its founding in 1995. Through 18 years as a member of the Toronto Chamber Choir, Ray indulged a love of early music and can now be found around town in the occasional pickup choir.
Howard Druckman sings as a chorister in Arlene Bishop’s “Vorchestra” choir, as part of her Spirit of Adventure project, captured on her Together Tonightalbum. Plays guitar, harmonica, sings and co-writes songs in old-tyme duo HOTCHA! with Beverly Kreller, as recorded on the album Dust Bowl Roots: Songs for the New Depression. Played guitar, piano, sang, and co-wrote songs in the now-defunct band Solstice, including on the album Received, produced by Phil Strong. Writes and edits daily content for a corporate website, online magazine, blog, and year-end print publication as Editor in Chief for music rights organization SOCAN. Lifelong music lover and music-maker.