Jakob Durst is a young and devoted student of many musical forms. Although drawing his main influence from creative and improvised music, namely the Black American Art-form “Jazz”, he is also interested in a variety of other musical stylings such as Classical, Latin, and African music. Jakob’s primary instrument is the tenor saxophone, however he has also learned and studied a variety of other instruments such as flute, clarinet, piano, and most recently, drums. The dedication Jakob shows towards music has lead him to study and perform with many great artists, including Mike Murley, Marianne Trudel, Danny Janklow, and more. Additionally, Jakob was admitted to study at U of T’s prestigious Faculty of Music on scholarship, and started his Bachelor studies this past fall.

Duncan Wilson is an up-and-coming pianist from Orillia, Ontario, currently studying jazz performance at the University of Toronto. Although deeply rooted in the jazz tradition, modelling himself after greats such as Bill Evans and McCoy Tyner, Duncan embraces the forward thinking nature of the genre, drawing inspiration from contemporary artists such as Robert Glasper and Brad Mehldau. Despite his ripe age, Duncan has no lack of real-world experience, from leading his own trio to performing as a sideman with several big bands.

Tyler Wagler is an in demand performer, session musician and educator. After starting guitar lessons at age seven he grew playing classic rock, alternative, blues and folk music. By the end of high school his attention had started to turn towards both electric and double bass. Upon finishing high school he attended Humber College’s jazz program as a bass student where he completed a Bachelor of Music degree. While at Humber he had the opportunity to study under master musicians such as Don Thompson, Mike Downes and Pat Kilbride. At Humber he was also able to play with some of Canada’s most talented young musicians, experimenting with fusions of jazz, rock, folk and world music.

Since graduating from Humber, Tyler has worked steadily on stage and in the studio with a diverse group of artists, such as roots reggae band The Human Rights, gospel/folk singer David Sereda and Juno nominated singer Alysha Brilla. He has also had the chance to work with Paul Quarrington, Friendly Rich & The Lollipop People, Joni NehRita, Tannis Slimmon and Jay Douglas. As a part of modern jazz trio Hammerton/Wagler/O’Neill he has played around Southern Ontario and had several of his compositions recorded on their debut album. As a singer/songwriter he has released two EPs under his own name, the latter of which Gray Owl Point calls “a skillfully orchestrated and intimate affair.” He has also played a wide variety of jobbing and cover band gigs where he has played jazz, rock, funk, Top 40, klezmer, country and just about everything else. As an educator he has taught guitar and bass lessons, both individually and in group lessons at Long & McQuade in Toronto and Octave Music in Guelph. After several years of teaching and performing professionally in Toronto, Tyler has now been in Guelph for over ten years where he is busy teaching and performing. In 2019 he began working with the Guelph Youth Jazz Ensemble where he has been working with high school aged kids to deepen their vocabulary of jazz language and love of the music.

As an educator, Tyler believes strongly in assisting students in identifying their own goals and helping to achieve them through a mix of technique, repertoire and theory while developing a healthy relationship with music.