Aparna Halpé is a Sri Lankan-Canadian tango violinist, arranger, and composer, based in Toronto. She holds Licentiates of the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal Schools of Music, UK. In 2021, Aparna founded the all-women, diversity-focused tango ensemble, Solidaridad Tango, creating a tango practice grounded in principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion that foregrounds the careers of immigrant women musicians in tango. In 2025, she founded the free community music-making project, the Toronto Tango Community Orchestra, which invites musicians of all ages and abilities to experience the joy of learning tango while building stronger community relationships. In 2026, under Aparna’s direction, the TTCO was invited by RED Por La Identidad Canada to headline the fundraising event for the Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo which commemorated the victims of Argentina’s 1976 coup.

Aparna has over a decade of experience performing, arranging, and composing tango; she was the composer in residence at the Heliconian Club in 2022, and her compositions can be found on Solidaridad Tango’s debut album DISTANCIA (2023), which was nominated for Emerging Artist and Instrumental Group of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards 2025. Her new compositional work will be on Solidaridad Tango’s forthcoming album, On the TTC with Troilo (2026) which will be produced by Latin Grammy winner for tango production, Ignacio Varchausky.

Aparna continues her tango evolution as an educator and activist in community music making projects that foster the love of tango in Canada.