Nova Scotian cellist Sheila Hannigan graduated from the Université de Montréal with a Master’s in Performance under the direction of M. Yuli Turovsky. She also participated in masterclasses in Banff and Switzerland, and was the recipient of a bursary from the CALQ to study non-classical improvisation techniques with Eugene Friesen of the Berklee College in Boston. She can be heard regularly with Montreal ensembles such as l’Orchestre Métropolitain and La Piétà. Also interested in non-classical music, Ms Hannigan is a member of QAT, the arab-jazz ensemble Absinthe, Cordâme Trio, Persian singer Azam Ali, and the Romulo Larrea Tango Ensemble, with whom she has toured Europe, the US and Canada. She is presently touring with Danse Lhasa Danse. Ms Hannigan also regularly collaborates with popular, world music, and jazz artists, such as Pierre Lapointe and Diane Dufresne. She was a guest soloist for the Canada-wide tour of The Tea Party, and can be heard on soundtracks of many films and multidisciplinary projects.