Creative Team
Ahmed Moneka - creator, performer
arrived in Toronto from Baghdad six years ago and has since collaborated with many artistic institutions including the Canadian Opera Company, Tarragon Theatre, Aga Khan Museum, Tafelmusik, Driftwood Theatre Group, Toronto Jazz Festival, Koerner Hall, Modern Times Stage, Jabari Dance Theatre, Toronto Laboratory Theatre, Theatre Centre, and TRIA Theatre. He is one of the founders of the band Moskitto Bar and is the creator and leader of Moneka Arabic Jazz – a 2019 Stingray Rising Stars Winner at the Toronto Jazz Festival.
Jesse LaVercombe - creator, performer
Jesse LaVercombe is an award-winning Canadian-American screenwriter, playwright and actor. King Gilgamesh aside, his writing includes the feature films FLOAT (Lionsgate) and CODE 8: PART ll (Netflix - #1 in 71 countries), this award-winning and Oscar-qualifying short film, and other plays, musicals and silly articles. As an actor he won the Toronto ACTRA Award and received a Canadian Screen Award nomination for his work in VIOLATION (Sundance, TIFF, New York Times Critics’ Pick), and he is also known for portraying Jack Walker for four seasons on MURDOCH MYSTERIES (CBC). He’s performed onstage in theaters across the U.S. and Canada and in new plays by writers including Sarah Ruhl and Hannah Moscovitch. He trained as an actor at The National Theatre School of Canada and The Canadian Film Centre.
Seth Bockley - creator, director
is a writer of plays, fiction, and screenplays, and a theater artist specializing in literary adaptation (two stories by George Saunders, the novel '2666' by Roberto Bolaño). His stage works have been seen in Mexico City, Singapore, rural Ireland, Canada and all over the USA. An inaugural member of Chicago’s Goodman Theater Playwrights' Unit, for three years he served as Writer in Residence at Goodman Theater. He is Director of Creative Engagement at the Amsterdam-based environmental nonprofit Sovereign Nature Initiative, and his first film, “The Cartographer,” premiered in 2022 at the Berlin Short Film Festival. His story “Repertorio" in Boulevard magazine was nominated for a Pushcart Prize. He teaches performance and literary adaptation for the stage at the University of Chicago.
Waleed Abdulhamid – bass guitar, vocals.
is a Canadian Multi-instrumentalist; Composer; Vocalist, Music and Film Producer, known for his striking vocals, and virtuosic ability to play 20 instruments. He has been an active member of the Toronto music scene since his arrival, in 1991, from Sudan. He is currently a faculty member in the music department of the University of Toronto. He has recorded, performed and toured with celebrated artists including David Clayton Thomas of the Grammy Award winning band Blood, Sweat & Tears and Motown legends, The Drifters. He is most proud of his role as a mentor to acclaimed younger artists such as D’bi Young, Ngozi Paul, and Zaki Ibrahim.
Selcuk Suna – clarinet, sax.
born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1981, Selcuk from a family of musicians. He currently resides in Toronto, Canada, where he is a freelance musician. His most recent album "Turkish Standards / Non-standard" is out now. While living in Turkey, Selcuk played a weekly late-night show (Beyaz Show) for 13 years; he also played for numerous Turkish pop-stars (Ajda Pekkan, Kayahan, Mustafa Ceceli etc.) Now, he performs traditional Turkish music with Istanbul Band throughout Toronto. Selcuk is a member of the Royal Conservatory's New Canadian Global Music Orchestra, KUNÉ; and has played with many well known groups such as Sultans of String and Ahmed Moneka Arabic Jazz.
Max Senitt – drum kit.
the Juno Award winning drummer/percussionist Max Senitt is a highly regarded and in-demand freelance musician specializing in music from around the world. Besides performing with acclaimed Grammy and Juno award winning artists such as: Josh Groban, Alex Cuba, Kiran Ahluwalia, and Hilario Duran, he is also a proud member of Moneka Arabic Jazz band, Avataar, Kazdoura, Fractal Sufi and WAPAMA. As an educator, Max teaches privately, is a frequent contributing writer for various music magazines, and a faculty member at Centennial College in Toronto, Canada where he lives.
Demetri Petsalakis – guitar,oud,band leader/orchestrator.
Originally from Athens Greece, Demetri Petsalakis is a Toronto based musician performing in a variety of styles with a focus on Greek and Middle Eastern lutes. Demetri has composed for, recorded and performed with many groups including Kune, Niyaz, Tafelmusik, Sultans of Strings, Ventanas, Near East Trio, Zephyr, Turkwaz, Moneka Arabic Jazz and Moskitto Bar. In 2020 Demetri was appointed the musical director of Kune, a Royal Conservatory world music orchestra with members from eleven different countries. Demetri has a Master of Music degree in jazz guitar performance from the University of Toronto, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from York University.
Jessica Deutsch – violin.
is an in-demand violinist, vocalist, bassist, arranger, MD, producer and composer in Toronto's music scene, Jessica Deutsch was classically-trained from the age of 3 and a three-time national finalist in the Canadian Music Competition. She has a new project with Tyler Emond called Hush, in which she sings and co-writes adventurous indie pop music. She also leads and composes the music for her band Ozere, which mixes classical chamber music with world folk styles. She works with many artists, including Leif Vollebekk, Tyler Shaw, Sarah Slean, Jayme Stone, Tara Moneka, Ventanas, and Beyond the Pale. She also played fiddle in the hit Mirvish musical Come From Away.