Noted Belgian musicologist, teacher and author Harry Halbreich was born in Berlin in 1931. After studying with Arthur Honegger and then with Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatoire, he taught musical analysis at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Mons from 1970-1996. His highly regarded studies, articles and books on modern and contemporary music include works on Olivier Messiaen, Claude Debussy, Edgard Varèse, Arthur Honegger and Bohuslav Martinu. He has also prepared catalogues of the works of Honegger and Martinu whose works are sometimes referred to by their H- number. His keen interest in modern music is reflected in his articles on a number of composers including Iannis Xenakis, Giacinto Scelsi, György Ligeti, Edgard Varèse and Maurice Ohana. But he has also written on giants of the past, including Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Anton Bruckner and Jean Sibelius. Since 1996, Harry Halbreich has given morning music talks at the popular annual Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland.

Charles "Chip" Hamann joined the National Arts Centre Orchestra in 1993 as acting principal oboe at the age of 22, and after two seasons became principal oboe. Recognized as one of Canada's foremost oboists, he performs regularly as soloist with the Orchestra. Other solo appearances include the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra, Thirteen Strings and Les Violons du Roy. He is also active as chamber musician, teacher and adjudicator. He participates annually in the Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival, has toured in Canada and the United States with the National Arts Centre Wind Quintet, and has appeared at the Utah, Norfolk and San Luis Obispo (California) music festivals, among others. He teaches at the University of Ottawa and NAC Summer Institute, and in recent seasons has given master classes in Canada, the United States and Mexico. He has adjudicated for the NAC Orchestra Bursary competition as well as the Conservatoire de musique du Québec.

Lucas Harris started out as a jazz guitarist in his native Phoenix, Arizona. A summa cum laude graduate of Pomona College in Claremont, California, he studied as a Marco Fodella Foundation scholar in Milan and then at the Hochschule für Künste Bremen. Continuo player for dozens of Baroque ensembles across North America, he is the regular lutenist of Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra in Toronto. He teaches at the Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute and Oberlin Conservatory's Baroque Performance Institute, and has also taught for Amherst Early Music and the New York Continuo Collective. He is a founder of the Toronto Continuo Collective, a weekly class and performing "pluck band" dedicated to learning the art of 17th century accompaniment. Recent projects include a lute concerto program for CBC Radio's Young Artist Series, a solo recital for the Minnesota Guitar Society, a debut solo CD, and duo recitals and a recording with pipa virtuoso Wen Zhao. He has been invited to direct the Pacific Baroque Orchestra in Vancouver.

Kyoko Hashimoto studied at the Toho-Gakuen School in Tokyo, the International Menuhin Music Academy in Switzerland, Indiana University and the Juilliard School with, among others, György Sebök, Menahem Pressler, Felix Galimir and Ferenc Rados. Winner at many international competitions, she has performed in more than 25 countries in major centres and venues including London's Wigmore Hall, New York's Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall, and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw. As soloist, she has appeared with leading orchestras and as chamber musician she has participated in many international festivals and collaborated with noted artists such as violinists Ruggiero Ricci, Thomas Zehetmair, cellists Antonio Meneses, Steven Isserlis, violist Bruno Giuranna and hornist Barry Tuckwell. Also often recorded for radio and television broadcasts, her discography notably includes Schumann, Messiaen, Scriabin and Shostakovich. She taught at Utrecht Conservatory in Holland for 12 years and now teaches at McGill University. Since 2004, she has been artistic director of the International Music Workshop in the Czech Republic and Germany.

Desmond Hoebig, principal cello of the Cleveland Orchestra since 2003, previously held the same position with the Houston Symphony Orchestra and taught at Rice University's Schepherd School of Music. Prize-winner at the Munich International and Moscow's Tchaikovsky competitions, among others, he studied in Vancouver, at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School. As guest soloist, he performs annually with the Cleveland Orchestra and has also performed with major orchestras in Canada, the United States, Mexico and Europe. As chamber musician, he was cellist of the Orford String Quartet (1989-1991) that toured extensively throughout North America, Europe and Asia, and won a 1990 Juno award for best classical album. Since 1980, he has performed regularly in a duo with pianist Andrew Tunis. The duo has released three recordings, one nominated for a Juno award, and toured in North America and Europe. Participating in festivals throughout North America, this summer takes him, among others, to Calgary's Music Bridge, the Orcas Island, Pacific and Sarasota Festivals.

Recognized as one of Canada's most outstanding violinists, Gwen Hoebig, a graduate of New York's Juilliard School, has been concertmaster of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra since 1987. A champion of new music, she has given the Canadian premieres of violin concertos by S.C. Eckhardt-Gramatté, T.P. Carrabré, Randolph Peters, Gary Kulesha, Joan Tower, Christopher Rouse and Philip Glass. As soloist with orchestra, she has performed all the major violin concertos with orchestras across Canada, the United States and Europe. She regularly performs at Canada's major festivals. In 1993, the Government of Canada honoured Gwen Hoebig with a Commemorative Medal on the occasion of the 125th Anniversary of Canadian Confederation, in recognition of her contribution to the Arts. She is founder and co-director of The Morningside Music Bridge at Calgary's Mount Royal College, a unique, multicultural, international summer program for outstanding young violinists, cellists and pianists from across China, Europe, the United States and Canada.

One of Canada's most distinguished chamber music ensembles, the Hoebig/Moroz Trio was formed in 1979 while its members, violinist Gwen Hoebig, cellist Desmond Hoebig and pianist David Moroz, were still students at the celebrated Juilliard School in New York City. Grand Prize winners of the special category in the 1983 CBC Talent Competition, the Trio has performed extensively across Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. Although their active individual careers have limited their appearances as a trio in recent years, their performances together are always greeted with great enthusiasm and critical acclaim.