Five remarkable Toronto musicians for whom 'the string is the thing' come together to remount their brilliant performances at Fort York during the Small World Festival. In the intimate setting of the Small World Centre, artists from a range of cultures will showcase their traditions and create new combinations that highlight musical 'common ground'. The five participants will perform individually to demonstrate their instruments and music before bringing their impressive talents together in a unique global string session.

Cihat Ozturk is a gifted performer of Turkish baglama, who won the Turkish Folk Music competition for Turkish Radio Television as a young man.
His love for Turkish folk music followed Chihat as he relocated to Toronto, where he has found new inspiration in teaching baglama to every race, every culture and anyone who is interested, to foster cultural understanding and build a community of Turkish music enthusiasts.

The voice of the 'Little Mosque on the Prairie' theme, Maryem Tollar is also a highly qualified performer on qanun, the Arabic plucked zither. Her repertoire encompasses centuries' old Arabic songs plus her own poly cultural creations. A key presence in Toronto's world music scene for two decades, Maryem has performed in numerous configurations, including with Turkwaz, also performing at Fort York on Saturday afternoon.

Erhu player Amely Zhou is trained in both Eastern and Western traditions. She began her music studies at an early age at the Shenzhen Arts School. In 2007, she joined the Toronto Chinese Orchestra, where she is currently the orchestra’s bow-string section assistant principal, helping to promote Chinese orchestral music in Canada. In 2010, she co-founded the Chinese-Western fusion band Spire, who impressed in their performance at Small World's Asian Music Series.

Anton Apostolov is a virtuoso guitarist and an innovative composer. Although he was trained as a classical guitarist, Anton is equally proficient performing in a variety of genres. Anton’s ability to organically combine the complex rhythmical structures of his native Bulgarian folk music with diverse jazz and global music influences makes him a unique and in-demand musician.

Anne Lederman is recognized as one of Canada's premier fiddlers. A force in this country's music since the '80s, Anne is strongly rooted in several Canadian musical traditions, old and new – Metis and French-Canadian, Scottish, Irish and Old-Time Canadian, Eastern European and African. She is active in a variety of performing ensembles and has overseen the growth of International Fiddle Day, taking place each May in Toronto.