"Mike McCormick is an Oslo-based guitarist, laptop performer and composer originally from Yellowknife, Canada. Though his primary expression is through music performance, Mike's creative output draws from a variety of disciplines, including conceptual and performance art, electroacoustic music, twentieth-century literature, and various notated and improvised music traditions.

Besides performing regularly in ad hoc improvising and chamber ensembles, his active projects include the improvising trio BRINICLE, the improvising laptop/saxophone duo Abelseth/McCormick, and his vivid depictions of human intimacy explored in the Proxemics project. In addition to composing for Proxemics, he maintains an active composing schedule with commissions from various chamber ensembles, often experimenting with the integration of improvised and strictly notated elements.

A graduate of the jazz program at the University of Toronto, Mike studied with esteemed Canadian musicians Geoff Young, Christine Duncan, Andrew Downing, Jim Lewis, and Terry Promane. He spent the final year of his degree on exchange at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland where he studied with Kari Ikonen, Teemu Viinikainen, and Jussi Kannaste.

In the spring of 2017 he completed the Nordic Masters program after studies in Oslo, Gothenburg, and Copenhagen with international luminaries such as Helge Sunde, Anders Jormin, Kasper Tranberg, Simon Toldam and Laura Toxværd. Since August 2017, he has been pursuing a Master's degree in Music Performance Technology at the Norwegian Music Academy in Oslo under the tutelage of internationally renowned composer Natasha Barrett.

Mike has been fortunate enough to perform in Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland, England, France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, India and all across Canada, including performances at the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival, Copenhagen Jazz Festival, Ottawa International Jazz Festival, and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. He has had the pleasure of collaborating and performing with visionary artists like Kasper Tranberg, Simon Toldam, Nordic Voices, Christine Duncan, and Greta Eacott.

Mike is also the recipient of many awards, including the Don Wright Scholarship in 2014 for accomplishment in the field of arranging and the first place scholarship in the Galaxie Rising Stars Program for emerging artists in 2013."

Norwegian bassist Håkon Norby Bjørgo is a member of Audun Trio, Bear Brother, and Paal Nilssen-Love's Extra Large Unit.

"I play, compose and I am occupied by exploring improvisation in many settings. I do solo performances and run several bands. Band called Mikoo, Quartet with two improvising acoustics guitars and voice called Fennel and drum duo Nutela. Together with Chris Corsano, Anja Jacobsen and Øyvind Skarbø we made a new piece for four drumkits. In August 2016 my solo album called Oblak, Oblek, Oblúk was released on a Czech label Jipangu.

I am a band leader of Mikoo. I am happy to play with some of the best improvisers of the new generation in Oslo. This music, which I have written for this project, is both inspired by, and written for these specific musicians. Compositions are using elements of group improvisation, including minimal songs, sonorities of church music, nuances of intonation and silence.

I am also a member of bands such as Bye Victoria, Brinicle, Lovalova, Arará and Prague Improvisation Orchestra."