Lucas Waldin, conductor
Lucas Waldin is a dynamic and versatile conductor whose performances have delighted audiences across North America. He has collaborated with some of today’s most exciting artists including Carly Rae Jepsen, The Barenaked Ladies, Crash Test Dummies, Ben Folds, The Canadian Brass, and Buffy Sainte-Marie, in addition to conducting presentations such as Disney in Concert, Blue Planet Live, Cirque de la Symphony, and the groundbreaking symphonic debut of R&B duo Dvsn as part of the global Red Bull Music Festival.
Waldin has been a guest conductor for numerous orchestras in the U.S. and Canada, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, the Houston Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, the Grant Park Festival Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony, the Calgary Philharmonic, the Toronto Symphony, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
Having joined the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra as Resident Conductor in 2009, Waldin was subsequently appointed Artist-in-Residence and Community Ambassador – the first position of its kind in North America. He appeared with the ESO over 150 times and conducted in Carnegie Hall during the orchestra’s participation in the 2012 Spring for Music festival. In recognition of his accomplishments he was awarded the Jean-Marie Beaudet Award in Orchestral Conducting and received a Citation Award from the City of Edmonton for outstanding achievements in arts and culture.
A native of Toronto, Ontario, Waldin holds degrees in flute and conducting from the Cleveland Institute of Music.
Rob Carli, composer/host
Robert Carli is a composer, performer and producer. His music has received numerous industry awards and nominations, including, 5 Gemini Awards, 4 Canadian Screen Awards and Canadian Folk Music Producer of The Year
He is completing his 18th season of Shaftesbury’s MURDOCH MYSTERIES (CBC), and recently finished a second season of the Paramount+ series SKYMED. Alongside composer Lora Bidner, he recently completed the upcoming fourth season of Ruby and the Well, which was nominated for best music score at the inaugural Children’s and Family Emmy Awards in 2022.
Other credits include scoring the critically- acclaimed documentary TOXIC BEAUTY, WYNONNA EARP for SyFy (US), Frankie Drake Mysteries (CBC), Ken Finkleman’s THE EDUCATION OF WILLIAM BOWMAN, and zombie-film pioneer George A Romero’s final movie SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD.
Rob is also a diverse performer, appearing frequently as saxophonist with various ensembles, including The Toronto Symphony Orchestra, The National Ballet of Canada and National Arts Centre Orchestra. He has taught saxophone at the University of Toronto since 1998.
Yannick Bisson, host
With over 60 credits to his name, Yannick Bisson is well known to audiences in 150 countries around the world as ‘Detective William Murdoch’ on the global hit series Murdoch Mysteries, currently filming its unprecedented 18th season for CBC, ITV Studios, UKTV and France Television. For over a decade, Bisson has also turned his talents to directing episodes of the series along with outside projects such Baking all the Way recently for Lifetime. A Montreal native who now lives in Toronto, Bisson got his first big break in 1984 when he landed a role in CBC’s critically acclaimed television movie Hockey Night with Megan Follows and Rick Moranis. This was followed by the lead role in his first feature film, Toby McTeague. Bisson spent a year in New Zealand with his young family shooting the first season of High Tide and several more years in the U.S. shooting the series. Bisson returned to Canada to perform the lead role of ‘Richmond Hobson’ in the CBC series Nothing Too Good for a Cowboy, as well as attorney ‘Brian Tedrow’ in the hit Showtime series Soul Food.
Recent credits include guest-starring roles in CBS/CTV’s Flashpoint; CTV/Fox International’s The Listener; the action feature Animal 2 starring Ving Rhames; and the lead role in the indie film Nothing Really Matters. Bisson also appeared in the feature film Casino Jack, which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. Bisson is happily married to actress, author and producer Shantelle Craig and has three daughters, Brianna, Dominique and Mikaela, who were instrumental in his decision to volunteer with Sheena’s Place, a support centre for people affected by eating disorders. Yannick and Shantelle also support Childhood Cancer Canada.
