A consummate sonic adventurer, Sorbara’s music draws on a vast array of influences, most notably the African American Creative Music tradition. They have performed and recorded with Ken Aldcroft, Anthony Braxton, Jared Burrows, JP Carter, Nikita Carter, Christine Duncan, Paul Dutton, François Houle, Germaine Liu, Joe McPhee, Evan Parker, William Parker, Allen Ravenstine, Clyde Reed, Steve Sladkowski, and Friendly Rich, among many many others. Their own projects include the Joe Sorbara Sextet (coming soon!) and The Imperative. Collaborations include duo projects with Paul Dutton, François Houle (SoHo), Thollem McDonas, and Steve Sladkowski, as well as groups Alien Radio, Aurealities, the Imaginary Percussion Ensemble, Never Was, Mars People, and Reliable Parts.

Sorbara is a long-time student of master drummer Jim Blackley. They hold an Honours Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music from York University in Toronto, a Master’s degree in English from the University of Guelph, and they are currently studying toward a PhD in Critical Improvisation Studies. Joe has worked extensively as a workshop facilitator and guest lecturer and began teaching through the School of Fine Arts and Music at the University of Guelph in 2007.

He is Research Chair at the University of Guelph and a leading Canadian humanities researcher who has produced important cross-disciplinary work, including some sixteen books with a wide variety of international presses. His most recent books include (with Ajay Heble and George Lipsitz) The Fierce Urgency of Now: Improvisation, Rights, and the Ethics of Cocreation (Duke UP) and a co-authored book with Martha Nandorfy entitled The Community of Rights • The Rights of Community (Oxford UP), the third in a trilogy of books co-written with Martha Nandorfy on rights issues. Daniel has received several major awards for teaching excellence and is to date the only winner from the Humanities of the prestigious Premier’s Research Excellence Award. He is a multiple award winner of SSHRCC grants as an independent researcher and as a core investigator on the MCRI and Partnership Fund grants and is associated with the Improvisation, Community, and Social Practice (ICASP) project and the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation (IICSI).

Over the past thirty-eight years Cathy has created scores for over one hundred theatre productions across Canada: her work has been heard on international stages with Ronnie Burkett Theatre of Marionettes, Manitoba Theatre For Young People and DynamO Théâtre. Cathy has scored a dozen documentary films including The Motherload for CBC Doc Zone and was Assistant Conductor/Keyboard 1 for the Toronto company of Jersey Boys.
Cathy has been a passionate teaching artist for numerous programs including the After School Opera Program for the Canadian Opera Company, Youth Inside Opera program for Tapestry Opera, tdsbCREATES and Swallowing Clouds for Princess Dance Productions. Cathy led community choirs for Community Arts Guild Unfolding and Moving Parts for Fujiwara Dance.
Other projects include workshops for Call and Response (Roy Thomson Hall/Massey Hall), Dispelling Darkness (Sampradaya Dance Creations) and WeeFestival: creation of The iPad Vocal Group at Waterfront Neighbourhood Centre: participation in the Artist and Climate Change Incubator with The Arctic Cycle: composer for Poetry & Healing (The League of Canadian Poets): and music facilitator for The Lullaby Project (Roy Thomson Hall/Massey Hall).
Cathy has been nominated for five DORA awards and for the 2020 Louis Applebaum Composer Award - Music For Young People. She is a member of the Toronto Musicians Union Local 149 and the Screen Composers Guild of Canada. As of September 2021, she is a University of Guelph M.A. candidate in Critical Studies in Improvisation.

Dr. Woods holds the position of Assistant Professor in the School of Fine Art and Music at the University of Guelph, where she is also a member of the research team and Site Coordinator for the International Institute for Critical Studies in Improvisation. Her research involves interdisciplinary approaches to music-analytic and socio-cultural analysis with recent work focusing on the concept of mythmaking, genealogy, and succession in hip-hop. She is currently working on a book length project, entitled Temptation and the God Flow: Sound and Signification in Pre- and Post-Conversion Hip-hop.

During her time at Silence, Scarlett has enjoyed success by fostering community partnerships, bolstering artistic expression and experimentation, and participating in organizational reflection and renewal. Prior to joining the team at Silence, Scarlett's experience included: Front of House Manager at Blyth Festival Theatre, Local Affairs Commissioner for the University of Guelph Central Students' Association, and Festival Director at Huronsound Music and Arts Festival. Scarlett brings to Silence a strong anti-oppressive framework and a dedication to amplifying marginalized voices and developing safe and community-focussed spaces.