Prize winner of international competitions, Polish cellist Magdalena Sas performs across Europe, Asia and the Americas, and appeared in renowned concert halls such as Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, BOZAR in Brussels, Witold Lutoslawski Studio in Warsaw, NCPA in Mumbai. She is a recipient of the prestigious Fulbright Scholarship and Paul Collins Wisconsin Distinguished Fellowship, and a graduate of music conservatories in Poland, Belgium, and Austria. In 2011-12 she was a member of the acclaimed European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) in Vienna, she is also a recent graduate of the prestigious Global Leaders Program, an Ivy League curated Executive Education program for impact-focused Art Entrepreneurs.

Dr. Ryan Loken, Assistant Professor of Percussion at the University of Minnesota Duluth, is recognized throughout the region for his expertise as an educator and multi-disciplinary collaborator. Recent solo performances have featured works by Francisco Perez, John Luther Adams, Emma O’Halloran, and other contemporary composers. Loken performs regularly with regional orchestras, including the Fargo Moorhead Symphony Orchestra, Itasca Symphony Orchestra, and the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. In 2019, he was a guest artist at the Oregon Fringe Festival in Ashland, Oregon, where his ensemble, MinusOne Percussion, performed John Luther Adams’s “Strange and Sacred Noise,” creating immersive musical experiences alongside fellow artists.