Sal Ferreras

Bio

Sal Ferreras

Sal Ferreras has enjoyed a varied and diverse career as a performing artist and producer, educator, and artistic administrator. His music, dance, and theatre performances and collaborations in classical music, world music, jazz, new music, indigenous music, improvisation, folk, and children’s music have taken him around the world. He was principal percussionist of the CBC Vancouver Orchestra under maestro Mario Bernardi and has toured and recorded as a member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony Orchestra, Viveza and the World Drums percussion orchestra. During the 2010 Vancouver Olympic and Paralympic Games he was the artistic director of the highly successful Four Host First Nations Aboriginal Pavilion.

Sal was inducted into the BC Entertainment Hall of Fame in 2002 and awarded the City of Vancouver’s Mayor’s Award for Music in 2010. He has performed on Juno and Grammy-winning recordings with diverse artists, including k.d. lang, Chicago, Robbie Robertson, Raffi, Colin James, Hedley and Viveza in addition to the CBC Radio Orchestra, and the luminary musicians who share tonight’s stage.

 

Miguelito Valdés

Described as one of Cuba's most highly regarded trumpet players of his generation, Miguelito Valdés has performed with many of Cuba's top performers, including the Cabaret Tropicana Orquesta, Pablo Milanés, Isaac Delgado, Mayito Rivera, Klimax, Chucho Valdés.

In 2000, he began playing with Omara Portuondo (Diva singer of Buena Vista Social Club) touring the world for six years. He has also played with important jazz musicians abroad, including Michael Brecker, Herbie Hancock, John Patitucci, Danilo Pérez, Wayne Shorter, and many others.

Tom Keenlyside

Tom Keenlyside’s musical career has spanned five decades, featuring performances and recordings as a flautist and saxophonist throughout North America and Europe. Tom has performed with many of the biggest names in the music business: Diana Krall, Harry Connick Jr., Natalie Cole, Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Tormé, Tom Jones and many others, and has been inducted into the B.C. Entertainment Hall of Fame.

Israel “Toto” Berriel

Israel (Toto) Berriel, is a traditional Afro-Cuban percussionist and singer from Matanzas, Cuba.

A naturally gifted vocalist and superb percussionist, Toto is deeply rooted in AfroCuban traditions but extends his traditional musical boundaries to include Cuban popular music, American jazz, soul, and funk.

Vancouver-based Toto performs regularly with the groups Tanga, Candela, and Kokoma, as well as being involved in world-music collaborations of all manner of musical styles ranging from Bhangra to tap.