Gregory Reid

Gregory Reid

Gregory Reid is a graduate of the York University Department of Music, where he studied piano improvisation with Casey Sokol and participated for three years as a member of the York Dance Ensemble.

Gregory works as a piano accompanist for the Department of Dance at York University, and teaches privately. His goal is to eventually work in the field of music therapy, allowing him to fuse his musical skills and talents with a passion for helping those in need.

Kevin Tam

Kevin Tam

Kevin Tam is a graduate of the University of Toronto with a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Performance. During his time as a student, he began playing for dance classes which led him to pursue a career as a dance musician. As an accompanist, Kevin has worked with institutions such as the Canadian Opera Company, the National Ballet School, Ryerson University, York University and ProArteDanza.

Jay Sussman

Jay Sussman

Jay Sussman is a highly motivated and skilled musician with over a decade of experience playing the drums.  He holds a MA and an Honors BFA from York University’s Faculty of Music.  Currently, he composes and performs compositions for various media related purposes including, film and videogame soundtracks, documentary movies and for live choreographed dances.  Jay has also recorded and performed with countless live music ensembles, encompassing a multitude of genres.  He has been teaching privately since 2000, at Cosmo School of Music since 2005 and, in 2010, he taught Jazz Percussion at York University’s Faculty of Music.

Raphael Roter

Raphael Roter

Raphael Roter is a percussionist who has been accompanying dance since 2010 at York University. Aside from this work, Raphael also engages with dance as a composer/performer and dancer in various contexts, from small improvisational shows to more developed productions. In this vein, he recently returned from a European tour with experimental Music/Movement group Lila Ensemble. Outside the dance world, Raphael plays drumset in a number of projects around Toronto, crossing genre lines from Jazz to Afrobeat. He also focusses on the study of free improvisation and performs frequently in this context. He holds an Honours BFA in Music from York.

Personal website

Michael W. Leach

Michael W. Leach

Montreal born, Toronto and London (England) trained, Michael Leach is a pianist, organist, musical director and choral conductor of long standing who has performed widely in Canada, the United States, England, France and Italy. In the world of Musical Theatre and Dance, he has directed the music and played for more than 170 different productions.  As a pianist for  dance, Michael has worked with, amongst many others, The National Ballet of Canada, Toronto Dance Theatre, Les Grands Ballets, Les Ballets Jazz, American Ballet Theatre, The Milton Myers Dance Company, The Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, and Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch. As an organist, Michael maintains a position of Organist and Director of Music at an uptown Toronto church and is a published composer of sacred choral music. Michael has been a member of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Dance, since 1983.

Erik Geddis

Erik Geddis

Erik has been with York University’s Department of Dance for twelve years using piano, percussion and his voice. He has recorded a CD’s for ballet class, and contributed to various performances in dance. Erik’s experiences involve diverse styles and original composition as a soloist, and within an ensemble. He is known for his versatility and sensitivity in collaborating with other artists.