Artist bios - Longshadow 2024
Cassandra (River) Blondin Burt
Cassandra (River) Blondin Burt is a two-spirit member of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, born and raised on the southern coast of BC. Their grandparents are Georgina Blondin and Duncan Pryde. Cassandra is a Journalist, Performing Artist, and Researcher.
Their work is grounded in the exploration of healing through co-creation with earth and story. Cassandra believes that the radical act of being in-relation to our other-than-human-relations is an act of political and personal rebellion, and a pathway for collective and personal transformation and healing.
Through a deepening relationship with the land-body we call Earth, Cassandra explores a regenerative art and creation praxis that allows them to move through myriad contemporary settler-colonial social structures and ideologies with intent, and curiosity.
Instagram: @blondinburt
Website: https://linktr.ee/blondinburt
Rob Elo
Rob Elo is an alternative R&B/soul singer and songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist based out of Yellowknife, NT. “Think Death Cab For Cutie meets Tom Misch”, says Elo of his recent releases. “Darker lyrics, smooth vocals, and heavy pocket.”
His February 2024 release, “Same Mistakes”, is a lyrical reflection on the creative process. The instrumentals echo the sentiment of the words, and the track has Elo once again playing keys, guitar, drums, bass, synth, and singing on the recording. “Same Mistakes” is the follow up to 2023’s “Either Way”, and is the second single release ahead of the album Same Mistakes (summer 2024).
Facebook: @rob.elo.music
robelomusic.com
LJJ
Jonel Louis-Jean AKA LJJ was born and raised in Haiti. After years of moving around the Americas, he decided to make Yellowknife home in 2017. LJJ is a barber, song writer, composer, poet to name a few. LJJ is currently in studio working on a hit album. He is also very creative with a paint brush. Additionally, LJJ is the owner of LJJ Barbershop located downtown right at the intersection of Franklin Avenue and 48St. LJJ recognizes and acknowledges that he lives and plays on Chief Drygeese’s territory.
Instagram: @jonel_louis_jean
LJJ’s YouTube Channel
Ryan McCord
Where the romance of train hopping, the coziness of a Yellowknife shack and the crackle of an old country record on the stereo meet you have the makings of a Ryan McCord show. With a studied knowledge of the finest in classic country and a well-developed voice of his own his songs are sometimes true, sometimes made up, and sometimes made for dancing. With two solo albums under his belt, his music will make you feel like two-stepping.
Website: ryanmccord.com
Garneau String Quartet
In the earlier days of the COVID pandemic, after a series of outdoor concerts, the Garneau String Quartet was formed and recently became Ensemble-in-Residence at MacEwan University Conservatory of Music in Edmonton, Alberta. The quartet is comprised of members of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra - violinists Robert Uchida and Laura Veeze, violist Keith Hamm, and cellist Julie Hereish.
As part of their residency, the quartet performs a series of concerts throughout the season. They also coach young artists in the Chamber Music Academy Program who work with guest artists, and participate in performance classes and recitals.
The GSQ has toured the province of Alberta and has collaborated with artists such as Tom Allen, Lori Gemmel, Philip Chiu, Desmond Hoebig, Jessica Linnebach, and the Rosebud String Quartet.
This summer, in addition to Longshadow in Yellowknife NWT, the GSQ will perform at festivals across Western Canada in British Columbia, Alberta including at the PRISMA Festival and Music by the Sea in British Columbia.
The quartet gratefully acknowledges the support of the descendants of Eleanor and Laurent Garneau, for whom music and music making was, and is, a great source of inspiration and expression.
Kay Sibbeston
Longshadow 2024 Commissioned Composer
Kay Sibbeston is an emerging Dene composer and performer working in Yellowknife, NT. They grew up in Łı́ı́dlı ̨ı ̨ Kųę ́, NT. Kay's compositions include choral music, chamber music, and percussion ensemble pieces. They like to focus on the interactions between melodies and instruments, as well as representing concepts musically. Math and science are a big inspiration to them, and subsequently their pieces will tend to play with rhythmic dissonance and complexity, as well as musical representations of the scientific processes in the natural world.
Kay is trained on drum kit, classical percussion, and voice. They enjoy playing a wide range of genres, both contemporary and classical, but especially love jazz, blues, choral music, and mallet percussion. They are currently performing with Aurora Chorealis and the Ragged Ass Swing Band, both in Yellowknife. Kay studied at MacEwan University in Edmonton, AB, and earned a Bachelor of Music degree with a major in Composition in 2023. During their studies, Kay studied composition under Emilie Lebel and Kent Sangster, drum kit under Dave Liang, and film scoring and music technology under John McMillan.
Instagram: @kaysibbeston
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/kay-sibbeston
Kathryn Oraas - violin
“Hey Kathryn, “How long have you been playing violin?” ….“How long have I NOT been playing?!?”
A self-described ‘musical school drop-out with a day job’, Kathryn Oraas is a mainstay of the string music community in Yellowknife. Notable local performances include multiple shows with the BAM! Orchestra, the 2023 YCS production of Handel’s Messiah, and recording sessions on Carmen Braden’s WCMA-winning album Ravens. Kathryn will be performing the world premiere of Kay Sibbeston’s new work “Twin Primes” on Thursday June 6 at the Sundog Trading Post.
Andrew ball - arranger
Andrew Ball eagerly moved to Yellowknife in 2022. He is a helicopter pilot and outdoor enthusiast. Prior to his aviation career, Andrew toured North America for 11 years as a drummer with Calgary-born singer songwriter, Michael Bernard Fitzgerald. Classically trained (University of Calgary), Andrew specialized in marching percussion, spending two years with the Cavaliers Drum and Bugle Corps (Chicago, Il) 2007-2009. He still teaches percussion workshops, primarily for Western Canada High School, in Calgary AB, next to his hometown of Cochrane AB.
Andrew has been writing and arranging for strings, orchestra, and concert band since 2015. This past November he orchestrated a show for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, featuring Canadian country star, Brett Kissel. Andrew last appeared on drums with Reuban and the Dark at YK's own Snowcastle, 2024.
