Dean Burry is a composer, lyricist and playwright. His operas, including The Brothers Grimm, The Scorpions’ Sting and an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit have been produced across North America and in Wales, Brazil, Slovenia, Italy and China. He came to the gemshorn after a decade of penny-whistling with the Toronto-based Celtic/Newfoundland band Merasheen. Dean lives in Kingston, Ontario and is an assistant professor at Queen's University's DAN School of Drama and Music and the founding Artistic Director of the Watershed Festival - Reimagining Music Theatre. His family describes his hobbies as "collecting Spider-man comics, Star Wars and learning weird instruments".

Ken Hall is an arts administrator and flute player, and holds a Masters in flute performance from the University of Toronto. He organized and performed in several chamber music series in Toronto and appeared as a soloist and chamber musician in Canada, the USA and Europe before moving into full-time arts administration. Ken still enjoys playing chamber music and solo recitals whenever he can. He served as General Manager of the Canadian Children’s Opera Company for over 15 years before becoming the Executive Director of the Prince George Symphony Orchestra in 2021.

A sculptor, animator, director, exhibit designer, and inventor by profession, Hall has the sort of mind that likes to pursue a wide range of interests, often all at once. A lifelong love of early music spurred Hall to research the history of the gemshorn, ultimately teaching himself to make all of the gemshorns played by The Gemsmen quartet.

Hall’s lengthy professional life has been devoted to to communicating science concepts, via natural history documentaries for major broadcasters; exhibits for major museums, science centers, and theme parks internationally; and making vital contributions to various research efforts with teams from institutions such as Stanford and MIT, supported by his many patented innovations that have helped make these enterprises possible.

Trevor Rines is an actor, musician, writer, composer, notorious punster, foamsmither, & boardgame designer, who’s quoted on DNA in The Dictionary of Canadian Quotations & is writing a book called Oddly Controversial Things. His music & songs have appeared onstage in Macbeth, As You Like It, & The Joker of Seville. A pianist & singer, he’s studied every instrument of the orchestra, & played penny whistle, bodhrán, & ugly stick with the Newfoundland & Irish band Merasheen. His low, rumbling voice is heard onstage with orchestras, & on TV, radio, live action & animated films, documentaries, audio dramas, reconstructions of lost classic radio plays, & podcasts. He’s performed in every play by Shakespeare, discussed Shakespeare in Star Trek on a podcast, & was a contestant on Evil Idol.