WNMF 3: Beyond Horizons
2026-01-27 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Winnipeg) | Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1C3, Canada
Dates

Tuesday, January 27, 2026 , 7:00 pm

Venue

Centennial Concert Hall

Artists
Daniel Raiskin, conductor
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Works
Chelsea Komschlies: A Hidden Sun Rises – Canadian premiere
Christopher Theofanidis: A Thousand Cranes – Canadian premiere
Neil Weisensel: Centuries of Hope: Variations + Theme for Orchestra – World Premiere / WSO Commision
Gabriela Ortiz: TZAM for orchestra

Returning to our familiar concert hall, music director Daniel Raiskin leads the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in a series of works that raise the spirit, evoking a sense of hope even in the face of great turmoil and tragedy.
Chealse Komschlies’s A Hidden Sun Rises offers a luminous and poetic symphonic opening to the concert. Distinguished guest composer Christopher Theofanidis then returns with A Thousand Cranes, a lyrical and contemplative work that features the WSO’s string section in nuanced dialogue with the harp.
The WSO is pleased to present the world premiere of Centuries of Hope: Variations + Theme by Winnipeg composer Neil Weisensel. Created for WNMF 2026 as a statement of perseverance and triumph over oppressive forces, this powerful new work carries a strain of strident resistance as it responds to world events.
Closing out the evening is Grammy-winning composer Gabriela Ortiz’s shimmering work TZAM, an epic orchestral statement that sees the composer taking a metaphorical step back to contemplate the Earth — and humanity’s place within it.

PROGRAM NOTES
Chelsea Komschlies – A Hidden Sun Rises (2019) [Canadian premiere]
A darkened orb, long dormant, and unseen by human eye
Begins to stir and wake at last, and glow within, and rise:
This, Of a great new dawn, the turning of the age, a sign.

Christopher Theofanidis – A Thousand Cranes (2015) [Canadian premiere]
A Thousand Cranes (2015) has been a piece I have long wanted to write. Many years ago on a visit to Japan, I encountered the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who was affected by the radiation of the atomic blast in Hiroshima during World War II. There have been many artistic efforts written in response to that terrible event, most of which have had an understandably intense and dark impulse. The story of Sadako seemed to me to have a different focus- her short life met the unspeakable with the only response that can reflect true good- hope and faith in the future, and a belief in beauty.
After Sadako became sick, she followed an old custom that said that said that if she folded 1000 origami cranes, her deepest wish would come true. In an effort to heal herself, she folded the 1000 cranes, and then when she didn’t get better, the story goes that she still believed in the creative gesture so much that she started to fold another 1000 cranes. This hope and belief in a better future, even in response to such a tragedy, is what attracted me to the subject, and it is what underpins the impulse of my piece.
A Thousand Cranes is also in some ways a fulfillment of a promise that I made to my friend, Masakazu Hoshima, who hosted me and many others in Hiroshima, and took us to the memorial museum there, introduced us to a survivor who shared his story with us, and showed us many other facets of life in that remarkable city.
This work was facilitated by the Yellow Barn festival and was originally written for the East Coast Chamber Orchestra (ECCO) with Sivan Magen on harp and premiered in December of 2015 at the Nasher Museum in Dallas, Texas. It is commissioned by Charles and Jessie Price and dedicated to Nash and Marion.
The piece is approximately 25 minutes long.
—Christopher Theofanidis

Neil Weisensel – Centuries of Hope: Variations + Theme (2026) for orchestra [World premiere / WSO commission]
After Harry Stafylakis called and offered me a place on tonight’s programme, I started thinking first about what I would create, and then, given current world events, about the role of the artist in society. Why do artists create art? In 1991, I had the good fortune to meet the esteemed French-Romanian writer George Astalos (1933-2014) in Paris. We had a shared interest in opera, as he had produced a libretto (opera script) in 1979 entitled “Coup de Sifflet”, about the rise and fall of a dictator. M. Astalos wrote this piece while living in exile in Paris during the Ceausescu regime’s reign of terror in his homeland of Romania, and in fact predicted the fall of the Iron Curtain. I have always felt that this story, with its compelling dramatic arc of Glory/Diversion/Revolt/Downfall, needed to be told one way or another.
All would-be or actual dictators have a few things in common in my view: they are all men; they are megalomaniacs; they are delusional, with highly inflated sense of self-worth; they see themselves as messianic figures; they create a false enemy in order to garner support; they use fear and ignorance as a weapon; and, most importantly, their dictatorship always eventually crumbles. For centuries, humans have suffered under dictators, but against difficult and seemingly insurmountable odds and intractable situations, the people have always persevered, so I came up with the title “Centuries of Hope”, as a tribute to the people’s strength and resilience.
I have based this new composition on a musical idea (the “Theme” of the Variations and Theme subtitle) that I created for one of the scenes of Astalos’ opera “Coup de Sifflet”. I’m inspired in this work by the great 20th century German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen (1928-2007), who I once heard deliver a speech at the Paris Conservatory of Music about how his piece “Michael’s Journey Around the Earth” uses an original theme, from which he built an entire orchestral composition of variations. Other musical and extra-musical inspiration comes from Frederick Rzewski’s monumental set of variations “The People United Shall Never Be Defeated” , based on the Chilean song “El pueblo unido jamás será vendico!” by Sergio Ortega and the Chilean folk group Quilapayún. Rzewski’s work was composed in 1975 as a tribute to the struggle of the Chilean people against the repressive regime of Augusto Pinochet. In fact, Rzewski’s work contains musical allusions to other European leftist struggles in Italy and Germany. However, because the timing of the inevitable downfall of every dictatorship is always hard to foretell, the Theme I will be using will only appear in its entirety as the conclusion of the piece. The subtitle of this work is therefore “Variations + Theme”, for which I take some of my inspiration in form, language and musical concepts from Claude Debussy’s “Preludes for Piano”, where the titles of individual pieces only appear at the end of the score.

Gabriela Ortiz – TZAM (2022) for orchestra
Due to circumstances that are entirely personal, heartfelt emotivity is conveyed in TZAM through a musical discourse that is, in turn, deeply rooted in the experiences life has to offer. Over the past two years, I have lost my father and two dear friends who were fundamental not only to me, but to musical development in Latin America: Carmen Helena Téllez, an orchestra conductor and tireless promoter of contemporary Latin American music, and Mario Lavista, my mentor and professor of musical composition. Somehow, as I began to compose TZAM, I found it impossible to defer what I felt was a pressing need to express my gratitude toward all of them through music.
Dedicated to the memory of Mario Lavista, TZAM means “dialogue” in Ayapaneco, one of more than 60 indigenous languages found in Mexico today although, with fewer than ten speakers, it is lamentably on the verge of extinction. I chose TZAM as a title not only for its attractive sound, but also because implicit in its meaning is our ability to converse and dialogue, not only with all that surrounds us and nourishes us as human beings within this secret, timeless space, but also and above all with what it means to be a human being on this Earth.
Parting from the action of dialogue as a primal concept, I decided to position the brass section differently, dividing it into two instrumental groups situated across from one another in a circular fashion, so that a stereophonic exchange of ideas could arise among them. Parting from this unusual instrumental placement of the brass, I thought it would be congruent to start out with a fanfare. This material acts as a leitmotiv or recurring idée fixe. Immediately afterwards, I carefully chose the main axes of harmony and textured timbre for each of the sections. I then tried to emulate the idea of representing an ocean of sounds —its rising and ebbing tides, acting time and again as a colorful harmonic and instrumental surprise. The central portion of TZAM includes the introduction of new musical material as a personal tribute to remind us of the intimate, delicate realm of Lavista’s music. Its development features a surprising and contrasting adagio for strings that, beyond a shadow of a doubt, originated in a genuine attempt to dialogue with Carmen, with Mario and with my father, perhaps for the last time. Finally, a brief epilogue appears in which I revisit the beginning of the work, thus reviving the primal concept that sparked its development.
—Gabriela Ortiz

WNMF 4: CC Duo: Hyperfocused
2026-01-28 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Winnipeg) | Desautels Concert Hall, University of Manitoba, 150 Dafoe Rd W, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada
WNMF 4: CC Duo: Hyperfocused

Dates

Wednesday, January 28, 2026 , 7:00 pm
Venue

Desautels Concert Hall

Artists
CC Duo, guitars
TBD, live electronics

Works
Jacob Mühlrad & Olga Neuwirth: Alarm of the Soul
Alex Burtzos: The Turing Test
Max Grafe: Berceuse
Derek Cooper: Insomnia Rain
Gordon Fitzell: Slight
Jason Noble: Shadow Prism
Andrew Staniland: Choro: The Joyful Lament for Villa-Lobos
Gordon Fitzell: Sleight
Amy Brandon: Intermountainous
Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis & Adam Pietrykowski: Focus
(Van Tilberg Remix)

Partnering with the Winnipeg Classical Guitar Society, WNMF heads for the second time to the beautiful Marcel Desautels Concert Hall to present award-winning Canadian ensemble CC Duo.
In recent years, guitarists Adam Cicchillitti and Steve Cowan have undertaken numerous projects that have explored new sounds and possibilities in the classical guitar. Together and individually, they have commissioned works from Canadian and international composers like Kelly-Marie Murphy, ICEBERG New Music, and WSO’s own Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis, together developing a corpus that blends an appreciation for tradition and a fascination with innovation.
Enjoy an evening of music that ranges from delicate sonorities and intimate expressions to grandiose and bombastic interjections, tied together by electronic soundscapes that will fill the University of Manitoba’s resonant new concert hall.

PROGRAM NOTES
Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis & Adam Pietrykowski – Focus (Van Tilberg Remix)
I. Radial Glare
II. Inward Gaze
“Concentrate all your thoughts upon the work at hand. The sun’s rays do not burn until brought to a focus.”
—Alexander Graham Bell
“It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.”
—Aristotle
My artistic persona is deeply informed by two musical lineages that are historically distinct: classical music and progressive metal.
I first began developing my compositional voice as a metal songwriter. Later in life, switching lanes to the world of (“classical”) concert music, there was a pervasive sense in my new milieu that one must hide or subsume such “popular” influences in order to be taken seriously. Naturally, then, my artistic output over a dozen years of composing concert music has largely been concerned with both fusing and highlighting these two lineages explicitly and unabashedly.
Focus is an ode to my love of both metal and classical musics – passions I share with my friends Steve Cowan and Adam Cicchillitti, the two guitarists to whom it is dedicated.
The piece is set in two movements. The first, Radial Glare, leans heavily on the metal end of the spectrum, deploying both classical and electric guitar idioms in an unrelentingly virtuosic, ferociously extroverted stream of sound and tight ensemble work. The second, Inward Gaze, shifts over to the classical domain, exploring the more delicate and coloristic qualities of the nylon-string guitar, while building on a thematic foundation drawn from one of the most beautiful works in Western music history: the second movement of Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony.
Focus was commissioned by the Cowan-Cicchillitti Duo with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts. The Van Tilburg Remix was created for the 21st Century Guitar conference in Ottawa, Canada.
—HS | www.hstafylakis.com
The sun burns bright only because of its own self-destruction. It is a sea of fire in a vast nothingness, violently burning its own essence. Harry’s piece captures this disarray and directs this fervor into a focused beam. Still, the tension of such a process is not alleviated. The fire is still unwieldy, the filament still burns hot, and the noise is present in our light whether we notice it or not.
When dealing with music like Focus, I prefer not to remix in overtly destructive ways. The piece is already there for me to decorate and pull from. Think of this remix as a photograph of a familiar subject, but captured on different wavelengths. My interpretation adds nothing that wasn’t already there, it merely makes that spectra visible.
—Van Tilburg

Cosmoi: Stafylakis & Theofanidis, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
2026-01-29 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Winnipeg) | Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1C3, Canada
Daniel Raiskin, conductor
Stephen Williamson, clarinet
CC Duo, guitars
Jacob Mühlrad: RESIL I for orchestra — Canadian premiere
Christopher Theofanidis: Indigo Heaven for clarinet & orchestra — Canadian premiere
Kelly-Marie Murphy: The Confectioner’s Handbook for 2 guitars & strings
Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis: Symphony No. 3 — World premiere / WSO commission
Photo: Matthew Fried.
Swedish composer Jacob Mühlrad comes to Winnipeg for the first time to present the Canadian premiere of his RESIL I, a sonorous work that considers humanity’s role within Earth’s complex natural systems.
The WSO then welcomes guest soloist Stephen Williamson – principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony – to give the Canadian premiere of distinguished guest composer Christopher Theofanidis’s Indigo Heaven. Composed for Williamson, the work evokes the majesty we experience as we navigate between epic natural landscapes.
Guest ensemble CC Duo joins the WSO in a performance of Kelly-Marie Murphy’s characteristically energetic, playful, and virtuosic The Confectioner’s Handbook, one of a series of concerti for two guitars commissioned by the ensemble for their 2025 album – a collaboration with string ensemble Collectif9 – Re/String.
The concert comes to a resounding end with the Third Symphony of Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis, his last major work composed for the WSO as part of his historic 10-year tenure as the orchestra’s composer-in-residence and co-curator of the Winnipeg New Music Festival.

WNMF 5: Theofanidis & Stafylakis: Sunset
2026-01-29 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Winnipeg) | Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1C3, Canada
Dates

Thursday, January 29, 2026 , 7:00 pm
Venue

Centennial Concert Hall

Artists
Daniel Raiskin, conductor
Stephen Williamson, clarinet
CC Duo, guitars
Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra

Works
Jacob Mühlrad: RESIL I for orchestra – Canadian premiere
Christopher Theofanidis: Indigo Heaven for clarinet & orchestra – – Canadian premiere
Kelly-Marie Murphy: The Confectioner’s Handbook for 2 guitars & strings
Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis: Symphony No. 3: Beyond Horizon – World premiere / WSO commission

For this closing concert of WNMF 2026, music director Daniel Raiskin and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra begin with two nature-inspired works.
Swedish composer Jacob Mühlrad comes to Winnipeg for the first time to present the Canadian premiere of his RESIL I, a sonorous work that considers humanity’s role within Earth’s complex natural systems.
The WSO then welcomes guest soloist Stephen Williamson – principal clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony – to give the Canadian premiere of distinguished guest composer Christopher Theofanidis’s Indigo Heaven. Composed for Williamson, the work evokes the majesty we experience as we navigate between epic natural landscapes.
Guest ensemble CC Duo then returns, joining the WSO in a performance of Kelly-Marie Murphy’s characteristically energetic, playful, and virtuosic The Confectioner’s Handbook, one of a series of concerti for two guitars commissioned by the ensemble for their 2025 album – a collaboration with string ensemble Collectif9 – Re/String.
The festival comes to a resounding end with the Third Symphony of Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis, his last major work composed for the WSO as part of his historic 10-year tenure as the orchestra’s composer-in-residence and co-curator of the Winnipeg New Music Festival.

PROGRAM NOTES
Jacob Mühlrad – RESIL I (2024) for orchestra [Canadian premiere]
When the lights are dimmed, in the silence that follows the applause, you hear something – you are not sure what: a collection of quiet sounds drowned in excessive air, vibration, and resonance, some of them very low, others uncomfortably shrill, some actually inaudible to the human ear. Noise, out of which anything could appear. As we are drawn to listen intently, tensions appear towards pitches, chords, like a camera lens trying to focus on an object, found and lost again in a colorful blur. We are beginning to enjoy the cinematic effect, but intervals emerge, stretching on individual instruments into scales and simple rhythmical cells. Instruments start collaborating, based on timbral affinities, structures get more complex, something larger forms, that has a pulse. Seamlessly melodies appear, and you start following them, only to get lost in a factory of mechanical pounding that overcomes the heartfelt tunes. As we seem to have anticlimactically returned to shapeless noise, something unexpected happens: these different components start overlapping, assisting each other, in a motley combination of musical worlds that shouldn’t belong together, both epic in breadth and full to the brim with heterogeneous fragments and ideas. The sound masses grow leaner, settle around the fundamental overtone series, like iron dust under the influence of an invisible magnet. The piece ends in almost liturgical recollection, as we process the whirlwind of these dense ten minutes that feel like a fast forward, or maybe a rewind.
Perhaps all of this should be experienced by the listener before reading in this program note that the composer Jacob Mühlrad was inspired by the writings of environmental scientist Carl Folke and his concept of panarchy: the idea that, understood as a whole, our Earth is an aggregate of systems (biological and social, among others) nested in each other, bound by complex relationships of mutual influence. Then we understand RESIL I not just as a symphonic movement, but a symphonic poem that presents us with an accelerated history of life on our planet, from its humble beginnings to the incredible diversity of biological forms spawned by the Cambrian Explosion, and the many complications that followed, in which our species has come to leave its controversial mark. Knowing all this in advance, the listener might be tempted to try to read the events of this chronology in the details of the music, looking to decipher them as a story; and in doing so one might miss out on the fact that the work does not simply deliver an encrypted message on what Professor Folke calls resilience, meaning our planet’s systems’ ability to transform by adaptation and integration, to constantly reinvent themselves – rather, we are offered an opportunity to experience resilience for ourselves. Jacob Mühlrad doesn’t challenge our ability to understand meanings hidden in music, but the very ways in which we listen, by repeatedly switching between styles and techniques, therefore demanding continuous refocusing of our ears and attention. Our recent history shows that comprehending such a process of resilience intellectually is insufficient: if we are to invent sustainable ways of living on Earth, it has to be a skill that we train actively. In making that experience in a controlled environment, more concentrated in space and time than any natural scenery, we might actually get a glimpse of a humbling realization: the deeper under-standing of ourselves as a fleeting state of an ever-changing system, bound to the lives, speeds, and accidents of other ever-changing systems.
Aleksi Barrière, November 2024

Christopher Theofanidis – Indigo Heaven (2025) for clarinet & orchestra [Canadian premiere]
I. Hypnotic, easy
II. Vast, patient
Solo Cadenza
III. Brilliant
Stephen Williamson, clarinet
Indigo Heaven is a title taken (with permission) from author Mark Warren’s wonderful post-civil war era novel of the same name. In an affecting scene, the protagonist, a former soldier named Clayt, sees a work of art and finds a deep truth in the representation of nature in it, as if there is no barrier between the landscape’s depiction and reality he knows. In our case, the story’s setting of Colorado and Wyoming is personal here, as clarinetist Stephen Williamson spent most of his early life between those two states, and I spend time in both places each year myself. The description of the sky at dusk, an indigo heaven, is haunting and tied to the beauty of the end of the protaganist’s life. Each of the movements in my work take their affect from imagery from the novel.
The concerto is approximately 27 minutes, and is structured:
I. Hypnotic, easy
II. Vast, patient
Solo Cadenza
III. Brilliant
Steve and I met at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, in 1990, and it has been a dream long in the making for us to do a concerto together. I am grateful to the Chicago Symphony for the opportunity to bring this work to life, and for the Albany Symphony for making the recording of the work.
—Christopher Theofanidis

Kelly-Marie Murphy – The Confectioner’s Handbook (2022) for 2 guitars & strings
CC Duo: Adam Cicchillitti & Steve Cowan, guitars
Published in 1883, The Confectioner’s Handbook, is a practical guide to the art of sugar boiling. A successful sugar boil requires the right equipment, and very precise temperatures. It can go horribly wrong if the confectioner is not careful, and in that case, must be discarded.
When commissioned by the Cowan-Cicchillitti Duo for a concerto with string orchestra, I decided to reflect on these processes and draw a parallel with music-making. The heat, the bubbling mixture, the precise temperatures; long strands, threads, and fractures. There is an element of danger and a risk of failure at all times. But there are also moments of beauty and indeed, sweetness. Over its 9 minutes, the concerto touches on all these images.

Haralabos [Harry] Stafylakis – Symphony No. 3: Beyond Horizon (2026) [World premiere / WSO commission]
N/A

Donovan Seidle, Jessica McMann, Daniel Pelton, and Arthur Bachmann, Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra
2026-01-31 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Edmonton) | Bert Church LIVE Theatre, 1000 East Lake Boulevard, Airdrie, Alberta, T4A 1p6, Canada
The Program
Celebrate the land, people, and voices of Alberta through music that is familiar, fresh, and deeply rooted.
This program features works by four Alberta composers (Jessica McMann, Donovan Seidle, Daniel Pelton, and Arthur Bachmann) alongside Beethoven’s pastoral masterpiece, Symphony No. 6.
Featured Artists
JANNA SAILOR Conductor

Pete Meechan, Alberta Winds
2026-02-08 19:00 - 20:30 (America/Edmonton) | Christ Church Calgary, 3602 8th Street SW, Calgary, Alberta, T2T3A7, Canada
MUSIC for DARK SKIES

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8 February, 2026 | 7:00PM
Christ Church Calgary
3602 8th Street SW
Calgary, AB
Ticket Prices
Adult: $25.00
Student: $10 Advance / $15 Door
ALBERTA WINDS presents an evening of music inspired by the dark skies of winter and our world under them. From the excitement of exploring other worlds, to contemplating the power of the nature we see everyday, this musical program evokes an array of emotions with the assortment of instrumental colours available from the band.
Featuring music by acclaimed composers including:
Rossano GALANTE
Brooke PIERSON
Viet CUONG
Matthew EMERY
Pete MEECHAN
**STUDENT GROUP RATE**
For groups of 10 or more students, please email us at president@albertawinds.ca to inquire about a group rate. Let your band teachers know and gather up your friends!!

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Kati Agócs, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
2026-02-18 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Winnipeg) | Crescent Arts Centre, 525 Wardlaw Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3L 0L9, Canada
4 / DANCES OF DREAMS
7.30pm, Wednesday, February 18
Crescent Arts Centre, 525 Wardlaw Ave.
Jeneba Kanneh-Mason, piano
Jeri Lynne Johnson, conductor
A vibrant celebration of fantasy and rhythm featuring prodigy British pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason and conductor Jeri Lynne Johnson — both returning to the MCO stage since last appearing in spring 2024 — this program is a tapestry of dance and reverie; a place where memory, motion, and music intertwine.
Pianist Jeneba Kanneh-Mason is already captivating audiences with her “maturity in performance and interpretation […], the former an uncanny phenomenon” (Fraser). The third of the Kanneh-Mason clan to establish herself as a soloist, Jeneba recently made her BBC Proms debut with the Chineke! Orchestra, performing the Florence Price Concerto and was heralded by the press as “demonstrating musical insight, technical acuity, and an engaging performing persona” (Music OMH).
–
Frédéric Chopin
Piano Concerto No. 2 (arr. for strings)
Kati Agócs
New commissioned work
William Grant Still
Danzas de Panama
Program subject to change

Pro-D Sessions: Agency and Advocacy For Composers with Stefani Truant
2026-02-20 11:00 - 12:30, 2026-02-27 11:00 - 12:30 (America/Edmonton) | Manitoba
Session 1, February 20: So you’ve been offered a commission — now what?
Beyond the excitement of writing a new piece, commissions often come with questions that many composers are left to navigate on their own. This session offers a composer-centered look at what typically happens after the offer: how commissioning agreements work, what fees and rights usually cover, how exclusivity and consortia function, and how relationships and professional networks often play a role in opening these opportunities. Designed for composers at any stage, the goal is to demystify the commissioning process, normalize common questions, and help composers move forward with clarity, confidence, and a stronger focus on the music.
Session 2, February 27: Ask Us Anything: Commissioning, Relationships, and the Realities In Between
Not everything composers navigate fits neatly into a contract or a job description. This open conversation invites composers to bring their questions — big, small, and in-between — about commissioning, networking and relationship-building, and navigating professional situations that don’t always come with clear answers. In dialogue with CMC Prairie Region Director Janna Sailor, this session creates space for honest discussion about what works, what doesn’t, and how composers can approach opportunities with clarity, confidence, and integrity.
This event is FREE for everyone to attend, but requires pre-registration.
Where: ZOOM
When: February 20 and 27 | 11:00am MST

REGISTER

Ian Cusson, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
2026-02-27 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-02-28 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Edmonton) | Jack Singer Concert Hall, 205 8 Ave SE, Calgary, AB, T2G 0K9, Canada
Program
Catch the brilliance of Shostakovich’s Ninth Symphony as conductor Jessica Cottis leads the Orchestra in revealing the complexities behind the work’s seemingly lighthearted façade. The Orchestra’s own concertmaster Diana Cohen takes the spotlight in Max Bruch’s riveting and romantic First Violin Concerto — voted the #1 violin concerto of all time by Classic FM.
Ian Cusson 1Q84: Sinfonietta Metamoderna
Max Bruch Violin Concerto No. 1
Dmitri Shostakovich Symphony No. 9

Artists
JESSICA COTTIS conductor
DIANA COHEN violin
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

Malcolm Forsyth, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
2026-02-27 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-02-28 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Edmonton) | Winspear Centre, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4X8, Canada
About The Concert

Celebrated British pianist Benjamin Grosvenor returns after a 12-year absence to perform Benjamin Britten’s energetic Piano Concerto, written when the composer was 24 and known for its rhythmic drive and inventive orchestration.
At its premiere, a critic wrote cryptically of Brahms’ final symphony, “It is like a dark well; the longer we look into it, the more brightly the stars shine back.”
Malcolm Forsyth wrote his celebratory Jubilee Overture in 1964 when he was 28, four years before he moved to Edmonton and became a member of the ESO. Don’t miss this intriguing concert juxtaposing music of youthful exuberance and wise experience.
This concert will include an intermission.

Program to Include

BRAHMS
Symphony No. 4

BRITTEN
Piano Concerto
ESO Premiere

MALCOLM FORSYTH
Jubilee Overture

Program subject to change.

Featured Artists

Alain Trudel, Conductor
Benjamin Grosvenor, Piano

About ESO Classics

ESO Classics are dynamic and engaging concerts that feature the most memorable orchestral pieces. This masterworks series is our flagship and showcases the greatest symphonic masterpieces in classical music. From Bach and Handel in the Baroque period and Mozart and Beethoven in the 18th century Classical period, all the way to 21st century contemporary composers, this series encompasses the best of classical music. Our world-class musicians are joined by some of the most talented soloists from around the world, delivering unparalleled performances of these illustrious works. Let the timeless beauty of live classical music enrich and transport you!

Vincent Ho, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra
2026-03-07 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Winnipeg) | Centennial Concert Hall, 555 Main Street, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3B 1C3, Canada
Rune Bergmann, conductor
Jean Sibelius: Finlandia
Vincent Ho: Earthbeat (Saturday only)
Edvard Grieg: Norwegian Dances
Carl Nielsen: Symphony No. 4 “The Inextinguishable”
Photo: Kristin Hoebermann.
Sometimes, the guest artist dictates the program… and that is precisely the case in this concert of Scandinavian greats led by Norwegian conductor Rune Bergmann.
Jean Sibelius’ Finlandia is a symphonic mega-hit emblematic of the nationalism so often found in his music.
The Norwegian Dances by Edvard Grieg are athletic, boisterous, and charming folk-inspired numbers that will surely get everyone feeling the groove.
Like his contemporary Gustav Mahler, Carl Nielsen of Denmark was both a great symphonic conductor and a great symphonic composer. Written during the First World War and dubbed “The Inextinguishable,” Nielsen’s Symphony No. 4 is a powerful and grand work, expressive of the indomitable human spirit.
(Saturday only) To round out the program, a musical trip to Canada with the music of Vincent Ho, with whom Rune Bergmann worked closely at the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. A name that may also be familiar to Winnipeggers, Ho previously served as WSO’s Composer-in-Residence.

Keyan Emami, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
2026-03-11 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Winnipeg) | Crescent Arts Centre, 525 Wardlaw Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3L 0L9, Canada
5 / TEAL RAINBOWS
7.30pm, Wednesday, March 11
Crescent Arts Centre, 525 Wardlaw Ave.
Mahan Esfahani, harpsichord
Anne Manson, conductor
With glittering wit and playfulness, this program celebrates the harpsichord as it creates vivid soundscapes and shimmering colours — a spectrum of forms, textures, and shades.
Since making his London debut in 2009, Mahan Esfahani has established himself as the first harpsichordist in a generation whose work spans virtually all the areas of classical music-making—from critically-acclaimed performances and recordings of the standard repertoire, to working with leading composers, to pioneering concerto appearances with major symphony orchestras on four continents, and more.
–
Julian Grant
Vaudeville in Teal
J.S. Bach
Harpsichord Concerto BWV 1054 in D Major
Keyan Emami
Kian in Rainbows
Igor Stravinsky
Pulcinella Suite
Program subject to change

2026 Canadian Jazz Composers Workshops: GIVING THE ESSENTIALS: WRITING EFFECTIVE DRUM PARTS
2026-03-21 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Winnipeg) | Manitoba
2026 Canadian Jazz Composers Workshops:
​
​ March 21, 2026 – with Allison Au
April 25, 2026 – with Chelsea McBride
June 6, 2026 – with Daniel Hersog

GIVING THE ESSENTIALS: WRITING EFFECTIVE DRUM PARTS – Allison Au
During this session, Allison will share select scores from her 2024 Juno award-nominated album “Migrations”, written and arranged for a ten-piece chamber jazz ensemble (vocals, saxophone, vibraphone, piano, bass, drums, and string quartet). Long-time bandmate and co-collaborator, drummer Fabio Ragnelli, will complement this discussion exploring the individual parts and what makes for effective drum parts in this context.
HOW TO WRITE A MIDDLE SCHOOL BIG BAND CHART – Chelsea McBride
Over the course of this workshop, we will discuss the specific needs of middle and high school ensembles and the traits of effective big band arrangements – and how to marry those two concepts into music that is fun for the ensemble, director, and audience alike. We will discuss a general form outline, instrumentation/alternate parts, range considerations, and how the writing process can influence rehearsal and performance.
TRANSFORMING TRADITION: CRAFTING NEW STORIES FROM OLD MELODIES – Daniel Hersog
Daniel Hersog explores how long-loved folk material can become the foundation for contemporary jazz orchestra writing. Attendees will follow the creative arc – from the moment a folk tune sparks an idea, through the shaping of form and colour, to the final ensemble score. Hersog will break down his approaches to reinterpreting source material, including strategies in orchestration, harmonic reframing, and developing narrative intention. Participants will gain insight into how familiar melodies can be reshaped into expansive, modern works while retaining their emotional core.
Sponsors: Winnipeg Arts Council & the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra
There is no charge for this event, and we hope to keep it this way.
Donations toward this project are welcomed and donations over $25 will receive a tax receipt. (https://www.winnipegjazzorchestra.com/donate.html)
An email with the link to the event will be sent to you the morning of the workshop.
This session will be in English.
​Thank you for your participation in the Canadian Jazz Composers Workshops.

Vivian Fung, Edmonton Symphony Orchestra
2026-03-21 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-03-22 14:00 - 16:00 (America/Edmonton) | Winspear Centre, 4 Sir Winston Churchill Square NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 4X8, Canada
About The Concert

Beethoven’s beloved “Pastorale” Symphony is filled with imaginative musical depictions of birdsong, a flowing stream, a thunderstorm, and other sounds of country life.
Edmonton-born Vivian Fung’s Parade, inspired by watching her 6-year old son in a parade following pandemic lockdowns, is a “celebration of community that also explores the journey from solitude to togetherness.”
Camille Saint-Saëns often said, “form is the essence of art,” a principle that is eloquently realized in his compact Cello Concerto No. 1, featuring Montreal-born Jean-Guihen Queyras in his long overdue ESO debut.
This concert will include an intermission.

Program to Include

BEETHOVEN
Symphony No. 6 “Pastoral”

FAURÉ
Élégie for Cello

SAINT-SAËNS
Cello Concerto No. 1

VIVIAN FUNG
Parade
ESO Premiere

Program subject to change.

Featured Artists

Jean-Marie Zeitouni, Conductor & Music Director
Jean-Guihen Queyras, Cello
ESO Debut

About ESO Classics

ESO Classics are dynamic and engaging concerts that feature the most memorable orchestral pieces. This masterworks series is our flagship and showcases the greatest symphonic masterpieces in classical music. From Bach and Handel in the Baroque period and Mozart and Beethoven in the 18th century Classical period, all the way to 21st century contemporary composers, this series encompasses the best of classical music. Our world-class musicians are joined by some of the most talented soloists from around the world, delivering unparalleled performances of these illustrious works. Let the timeless beauty of live classical music enrich and transport you!

Jean Coulthard, Colleen Athparia, Rachel Laurin, Liezel Kruger, The Women with the Golden Flutes
2026-03-22 15:00 - 16:30 (America/Edmonton) | St. Stephen’s Anglican Church, 1121 14 Ave SW, Calgary, Alberta, T2R 0P3, Canada
PROGRAM
In the month of International Women’s Day, we present a concert to celebrate women musicians. Programmed by Calgary’s prominent flutists, the afternoon concert will feature Canadian and American female composers who have shaped and enriched the contemporary music landscape: Jean Coultard, Catherine McMichael, Rachel Laurin, Colleen Athparia, and Amanda Harberg. The program will also feature the premiere of Calgary composer Liezel Kruger and their piece The Trees of Kortillion, commissioned by Lucie Jones.
ARTISTS
Gwen Klassen, Emily Phernambucq, Sarah MacDonald, Lucie Jones (flutes), Akiko Tominaga (piano)
PROGRAM
The Trees of Kortillion by Liezel Kruger
Sonata for Flute and Piano, op. 29, Rachel Laurin
Ascending Ashes, Colleen Athparia
Lyric Sonatina for Flute and Piano, Jean Coultard
Court Dances Suite for flute and Piano, Amanda Harberg
Gaelic Offering, Catherine McMichael
SUNDAY, MARCH 22 2026
Doors at 2:30 PM
Show at 3:00 PM
Show Duration: 70 minutes (with no intermission)

LOCATION
St. Stephen’s Anglican Church
1121 14 Ave SW, Calgary, AB T2R 0P2

Donovan Seidle and James Watson, Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra
2026-03-27 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Edmonton) | Manitoba
The Program
Rock choir meets full symphony in a high-voltage fusion of hits — Stairway to Heaven, Bittersweet Symphony, Coldplay favourites, Yellow Brick Road, Hallelujah and more — performed live at Summit View United Church!
Enjoy original pieces and arrangements by Donovan Seidle, James Watson, and special guest ReMix: Powered by Revv52.

Donovan Seidle and James Watson, Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra
2026-03-28 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Edmonton) | Manitoba
The Program
A cheeky mashup of classical elegance and contemporary hits—where Regency flair meets pop, rock, and orchestra in a one-of-a-kind experience.
Enjoy original pieces and arrangements by Donovan Seidle, James Watson, and Revv52 Remix.
Featured Artists
JANNA SAILOR Conductor

Celebrating World Premieres in partnership with The University of Calgary
2026-03-28 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Edmonton) | Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall, 2500 University Drive NW, Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4, Canada
Celebrating World Premieres in partnership with The University of Calgary

March 28, 2026 7:30 pm

Location: Rozsa Centre
Pre-Concert Chat: 6:45pm
Concert: 7:30pm
Come and experience this special event as we celebrate today’s emerging, established, and senior musical voices. As part of University of Calgary’s Alchemy Festival and our annual Student Composers’ Program, we are excited to present five world premieres by students of the U of C composition program and twelve (!) from some of Canada’s acclaimed living composers. These were written just for us to premiere in this year-end concert that highlights the collaborative relationships we have with composers—some spanning almost 30 years!
Program
World premieres of new works by:
Five students of the UofC Composition program
Arthur Bachmann
Allan Gordon Bell
Dorothy Chang
Derek Charke
Vincent Ho
Gary Kulesha
Larysa Kuzmenko
Alexina Louie
Maxime McKinley
Kelly-Marie Murphy
Donovan Seidle

Kevin Lau, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
2026-04-12 14:30 - 16:30 (America/Winnipeg) | Crescent Arts Centre, 525 Wardlaw Ave, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3L 0L9, Canada
6 / IN THE COMPANY OF BIRDS
2.30pm, Sunday, April 12
Crescent Arts Centre, 525 Wardlaw Ave.
Winnipeg Sonora Voices
Anne Manson and Valdine Anderson, conductors
Nature sings in this evocative choral program with Winnipeg Sonora Voices, where birds, voices, and the turning of the seasons inspire new meditations on the rhythms of nature.
Winnipeg Sonora Voices (formerly known as Pembina Trails Voices) is an award-winning auditioned choral program offered to children and young people. Recent performing highlights include the world premiere of Sid Robinovitch’s Jonah with the MCO in 2022 and a guest appearance with the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir performing Sir Paul McCartney’s Ecce Cor Meum in 2024.
–
Kevin Lau
New commissioned work
Ola Gjeilo
Song of the Universal
Astor Piazzolla
The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires
Program subject to change

2026 Canadian Jazz Composers Workshops: HOW TO WRITE A MIDDLE SCHOOL BIG BAND CHART
2026-04-25 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Winnipeg) | Manitoba
2026 Canadian Jazz Composers Workshops:
​
April 25, 2026 – with Chelsea McBride
June 6, 2026 – with Daniel Hersog
–
GIVING THE ESSENTIALS: WRITING EFFECTIVE DRUM PARTS – Allison Au
During this session, Allison will share select scores from her 2024 Juno award-nominated album “Migrations”, written and arranged for a ten-piece chamber jazz ensemble (vocals, saxophone, vibraphone, piano, bass, drums, and string quartet). Long-time bandmate and co-collaborator, drummer Fabio Ragnelli, will complement this discussion exploring the individual parts and what makes for effective drum parts in this context.
HOW TO WRITE A MIDDLE SCHOOL BIG BAND CHART – Chelsea McBride
Over the course of this workshop, we will discuss the specific needs of middle and high school ensembles and the traits of effective big band arrangements – and how to marry those two concepts into music that is fun for the ensemble, director, and audience alike. We will discuss a general form outline, instrumentation/alternate parts, range considerations, and how the writing process can influence rehearsal and performance.
TRANSFORMING TRADITION: CRAFTING NEW STORIES FROM OLD MELODIES – Daniel Hersog
Daniel Hersog explores how long-loved folk material can become the foundation for contemporary jazz orchestra writing. Attendees will follow the creative arc – from the moment a folk tune sparks an idea, through the shaping of form and colour, to the final ensemble score. Hersog will break down his approaches to reinterpreting source material, including strategies in orchestration, harmonic reframing, and developing narrative intention. Participants will gain insight into how familiar melodies can be reshaped into expansive, modern works while retaining their emotional core.
Sponsors: Winnipeg Arts Council & the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra
There is no charge for this event, and we hope to keep it this way.
Donations toward this project are welcomed and donations over $25 will receive a tax receipt. (https://www.winnipegjazzorchestra.com/donate.html)
An email with the link to the event will be sent to you the morning of the workshop.
This session will be in English.
​Thank you for your participation in the Canadian Jazz Composers Workshops.

Marie Clements/Brian Current & Ian Cusson, Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
2026-04-30 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Winnipeg) | Desautels Concert Hall, University of Manitoba, 150 Dafoe Rd W, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R3T 2N2, Canada
7 / SONGS OF RIVER & FIRE
7.30pm, Thursday, April 30
Desautels Concert Hall, University of Manitoba
Melody Courage and Marion Newman, vocals
Anne Manson, conductor
Themes of motherhood, loss, and joy emerge in a program that spans opera, Indigenous voices, and folk tradition, with song and spirit rising together like flame and tide.
Métis soprano Melody Courage gained national attention as The Native Girl “…played with ethereal grace…” in the 2017 world premiere of Marie Clements’ and Brian Current’s opera Missing, co-produced by City Opera Vancouver and Pacific Opera Victoria. Missing gives voice, in English and Gitxsan, to the story of Canada’s missing and murdered Indigenous women.
Critically acclaimed and award-winning mezzo-soprano Marion Newman is Kwagiulth and Stó:lō First Nations with English, Irish and Scottish heritage. She is one of Canada’s most accomplished singers in repertoire ranging from Charpentier to Cusson and operatic roles, including Carmen and Rosina in The Barber of Seville.
–
Cassandra Miller
Perfect Offering
Marie Clements/Brian Current
Language Duet from “Missing”
Jacques Offenbach
Belle Nuit
Joy Harjo/Ian Cusson
Fire
Marion Newman
Kinanu
Gioachino Rossini
Una voce poco fa
Camille Saint-Saëns
Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix
Richard Strauss
Csárdás
Ian Cusson
Dodo, mon tout petit
G.F. Handel
Piangerò la sorte mia
Program subject to change

Samy Moussa, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
2026-05-22 19:30 - 21:30, 2026-05-23 19:30 - 21:30 (America/Edmonton) | Jack Singer Concert Hall, 205 8 Ave SE, Calgary, AB, T2G 0K9, Canada
Program

Discover Mahler’s mighty First Symphony as the Calgary Phil, conducted by Earl Lee, perform this orchestral epic that takes you from the joys of springtime — through rustic dances to an ironic funeral march — and culminates in victory over worldly despair. Before it, relish the rich, nostalgic poetry of Robert Schumann’s eloquent Cello Concerto, featuring distinguished cellist Steven Isserlis.
Samy Moussa Elysium
Robert Schumann Cello Concerto in A Minor
Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 1
Program and artists are subject to change without notice.

Artists

EARL LEE conductor
STEVEN ISSERLIS cello
CALGARY PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA

2026 Canadian Jazz Composers Workshops: TRANSFORMING TRADITION: CRAFTING NEW STORIES FROM OLD MELODIES
2026-06-06 12:00 - 13:00 (America/Winnipeg) | Manitoba
2026 Canadian Jazz Composers Workshops:
June 6, 2026 – with Daniel Hersog

GIVING THE ESSENTIALS: WRITING EFFECTIVE DRUM PARTS – Allison Au
During this session, Allison will share select scores from her 2024 Juno award-nominated album “Migrations”, written and arranged for a ten-piece chamber jazz ensemble (vocals, saxophone, vibraphone, piano, bass, drums, and string quartet). Long-time bandmate and co-collaborator, drummer Fabio Ragnelli, will complement this discussion exploring the individual parts and what makes for effective drum parts in this context.
HOW TO WRITE A MIDDLE SCHOOL BIG BAND CHART – Chelsea McBride
Over the course of this workshop, we will discuss the specific needs of middle and high school ensembles and the traits of effective big band arrangements – and how to marry those two concepts into music that is fun for the ensemble, director, and audience alike. We will discuss a general form outline, instrumentation/alternate parts, range considerations, and how the writing process can influence rehearsal and performance.
TRANSFORMING TRADITION: CRAFTING NEW STORIES FROM OLD MELODIES – Daniel Hersog

Daniel Hersog explores how long-loved folk material can become the foundation for contemporary jazz orchestra writing. Attendees will follow the creative arc – from the moment a folk tune sparks an idea, through the shaping of form and colour, to the final ensemble score. Hersog will break down his approaches to reinterpreting source material, including strategies in orchestration, harmonic reframing, and developing narrative intention. Participants will gain insight into how familiar melodies can be reshaped into expansive, modern works while retaining their emotional core.
Sponsors: Winnipeg Arts Council & the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra
There is no charge for this event, and we hope to keep it this way.
Donations toward this project are welcomed and donations over $25 will receive a tax receipt. (https://www.winnipegjazzorchestra.com/donate.html)
An email with the link to the event will be sent to you the morning of the workshop.
This session will be in English.
​Thank you for your participation in the Canadian Jazz Composers Workshops.
