Our Featured Artists

A highlight of FUSION will be spotlight performances in a variety of art forms. Internationally acclaimed artists are generously showing their support for Learning Through the Arts and performing and/or attending the event.

Measha Brueggergosman

Measha will be making an appearance at FUSION and will give greetings on behalf of the FUSION gala committee. She will also kick off a very exciting feature of the night – the Meashatini! This special martini was determined by Measha and a group of selected individuals to become the official fundraising beverage at FUSION. Be sure to try one!

Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman has emerged as one of the most magnificent performers and vibrant personalities of the day. She is critically acclaimed by the international press as much for her innate musicianship and radiant voice as for a sovereign stage presence far beyond her years. Her extraordinary versatility, intuitive musicality, and radiant star quality have yielded an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon.

Notable recital appearances have brought her to the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, Spivey Hall, University Musical Society, the Edinburgh and Bergen festivals, and to concert series in Toronto, Montreal, Winnipeg, Vancouver, Augsburg, Berlin, Bamberg, and Barcelona amongst many others.

Ms. Brueggergosman has been honoured to participate in a number of very special events including the gala re-openings of Roy Thomson Hall and of the University of Michigan’s Hill Auditorium, Canada Day celebrations from Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and the opening ceremonies of the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto - sharing the stage with Bill Gates and President Bill Clinton. She has performed at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland during two consecutive years, and has given a Royal Command Performance for Queen Elizabeth II. She also has sung for the Prince of Wales, President Tarja Halonen of Finland, Her Excellency the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson and numerous other leaders of Canada, as well as for Nelson Mandela.

Learning Through the Arts feels very honoured and excited to have Measha attending FUSION. Measha’s commitment and passion for literacy as well as her incredible musical talents match her perfectly to LTTA’s vision, a real FUSION to be sure. Don’t miss the opportunity to bid on Measha’s generous silent auction donation. You can host a book club meeting with Measha and a noted author in your home!

Emilie-Claire Barlow

“The next big thing in jazz”
- CBC – Canada AM

“Barlow sings with winning verve, cheering articulation and a daring that’s all too rare.”
- The Jazz Report

She's been called "the next big thing in jazz" (CBC - Canada Now), but Emilie-Claire is no newcomer to the music business. She started her career as a singer and voice actor at the age of seven, lending her voice to various television and radio jingles and voice-overs.

Her most recent release, the self produced and arranged, Winter Wonderland has elevated Emilie-Claire’s profile on both a national and international level. With a stack of rave reviews, a spot in the TOP 10 holiday albums on iTunes, and a circuit of National Television appearances to promote Winter Wonderland under her belt (Etalk, Canada AM, Gill Deacon)– Barlow has kicked her career into high gear.

Her 2005 release “Like A Lover” (June 2005) garnered critical acclaim and helped to secure Barlow distribution in Canada (Fusion III) and Japan (JVC), where Like A Lover was in the Top 20 Jazz albums on HMV Japan for over three months.

In the fall of 1998, Emilie-Claire released her first CD: ‘Emilie-Claire Barlow - SINGS. Over the next five years, in between recording ‘TRIBUTE’ and ‘happy feet’, Emilie-Claire played consistently to sold out shows at top jazz clubs and festivals. People are charmed by her energetic, confident performances, her natural demeanor and wit. Whether it’s with a small jazz trio, or the power-house octet, Emilie-Claire continues to endear herself to audiences everywhere.

Motus O Dance Theatre

"MOTUS O was the star turn of the night. An innovative and high energy troupe performing works that were imaginative and physically risky."
- H.J. Kirchhoff, Critic for Globe and Mail, Toronto, Ontario

"The dancers lifted, tossed, knotted and crawled with each other in a beautiful display of human movement." 
- Dave Allan Guzda, The Brock Press, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario

It is strange to think how an American gymnast, an Australian sheep shearer and a Canadian figure skater could have their paths meet and eventually become Co-Artistic Directors of a dance theatre company in Canada. Yet, as it turns out, that diversity has become the essence of MOTUS O. Where cultures and talents collide and then reform, creating a dynamic team that explores the dramatic and relishes the physical – and all with a touch of humour.

The Artistic Directors of MOTUS O, James Croker, Cindy Croker and Jack Langenhuizen, have all been trained in several artistic disciplines with decades of combined performing experience in both street theatre and stage. This diversity, coupled with their collaborative style of creating, enriches the production values and constantly surprises the viewer. Each production displays the Artistic Directors unique ability to be involved in the whole creative process. They create the story, design and build costumes and props, choreograph, shoot and edit film and if that is not enough, they perform.

MOTUS O is Latin for “the method of movement”. In the Artistic Directors words ‘we want to know the meaning of every movement and to move as if it has meaning’.  Physical inventiveness, lightning action, grace and raw energy are all trademarks of their evolving style.

Since their formation in 1990, MOTUS O has created seven full-length productions for both family and adult audiences. The troupe continues to tour throughout North America and the South Seas, bringing with them their innovative and highly visual works to both small and large communities alike.

Escola de Samba de Toronto

Drawing on both the talents of Toronto’s Brazilian community and on the musical resources of a small army of honorary Brazilians, the Escola de Samba is widely recognized as one of the more important cultural links between Toronto and Brazil, and certainly the most fun one. The leader and musical director of the Escola de Samba de Toronto is percussionist and musical all-rounder Alan “Canadense” Hetherington, a devotee of the Samba Enredo tradition of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo for nearly fifteen years. At the receiving end of Hetherington’s knowledge is the Escola de Samba’s core, a percussion “bateria” consisting of over 35 people who have all been transformed by the power and beauty of samba.

The Escola de Samba de Toronto was originally formed as a result of the desire by the Brazilian community in Toronto to participate in the city's summer festivities. Today, the Escola de Samba de Toronto is a forum for the study, practice, and performance of one of Brasil's most creative art forms. Our roots and influences stem from some of the highly revered proponents of the tradition including Mestre Serjao from the rural Escola de Samba Arco Iris in Jundiai , Sao Paulo; Mestre Sombra of Mocidade Alegre (Sao Paulo); Mestre Odilon ( Grande Rio ); Mestre Celsinho (Unidos do Tijuca); and Mestre Beto (Imperatriz Leopoldinense). Each of these escolas embodies the spirit that drives the Escola de Samba de Toronto.

Brandy Leary - Aerial Artist

A daring and diverse artist, Brandy has spanned mediums and continents for training, and performing in the past decade. She holds a BA Honours from the York University Theatre Department, where she specialized in Direction and Asian Theatre. Her work uniquely combines keen intelligence with stunning aesthetics as it spans theatrical traditions from both western and eastern perspectives. Due to the wide range of her artistic training and experience, Brandy has worked as a director, dancer, choreographer, puppeteer, aerial artist and designer since her graduation from York in 1998.

Brandy has spent a number of years living in India in order to continue her artistic training. She is an exponent and scholar of the Chhou dance drama in both the Seraikella and Mayurbhanj styles. Chhou is a martial arts based dance form that utilizes highly stylized movements and, in the Seraikella tradition, hauntingly beautiful masks. Brandy studied Seraikella Chhou under the guidance of world famous master Padmashree Guru Kedar Nath Sahoo at his institute in Seraikella and Mayurbhanj Chhou at the Natya Ballet Centre in New Delhi. She was awarded the prestigious Shastri Indo Canadian Fellowship to continue training with Guru Kedar Nath Sahoo in 2002/03 and again for continued study in 2005/06.

Most recently Brandy has added the aerial arts to her repertoire. She is currently involved in intensive training on the aerial silks, straps and hoop for the upcoming Anandam production of "relative gravity" that explores Einstein's theories on gravity, space and time. She is fortunate to be training under senior Toronto aerialist Rebecca Devi Lennord.

Brandy is the founder and Artistic Director of Anandam. This unique theatre company creates provocative and visually stunning productions, which integrate world performance traditions from the genres of puppetry, mask, dance and martial arts into contemporary, innovative and challenging theatre works.

Jian Ghomeshi - Broadcaster

Jian Ghomeshi is a broadcaster, writer and musical artist from Toronto. He is currently best known as a national on-air personality on CBC Television and Radio.  He has hosted various programs on television and radio including The National Playlist, Sounds Like Canada, Zed and The End.  He spent three years as the host of the Gemini-award winning TV program, Play, where he interviewed subjects ranging from Woody Allen to Johnny Rotten to Jane Fonda.  He has written for numerous publications including the Sunday Washington Post and The Globe and Mail.  He first came to public attention as a singer and songwriter in the multi-platinum selling folk rock group, Moxy Früvous.
Jian will be launching a new live national art and entertainment show on CBC Radio One on March 19, which will appear daily for 90 minutes in the afternoons and repeated in the evenings.  He is also currently a regular contributor on the CBC Television Program, The Hour.