CMC Prairie Region

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

UltraViolet performs music by Anthony Braxton, Mirela Ivičević, Larisa Vrhunc, Robert Lemay, and Zoltan Jeney
2026-05-02 19:00 - 21:30 (America/Edmonton) | St. Mary’s Anglican, 11203 68 St., Edmonton, Alberta, T5B 1N6, Canada
Shadowy incorporeal timbres melt upon the skin as a dream of velvet sound unfolds, while liquid rhythms pulse through golden light of melting clocks.
Experience this as UltraViolet performs music by Anthony Braxton, Mirela Ivičević, Larisa Vrhunc, Robert Lemay, and Zoltan Jeney
Robert Lemay – Zones d’Ombre (Canadian premiere)’
Mirela Ivičević – Car II
Larisa Vrhunc, – Leseni Kamni (Wooden Stones)
Zoltan Jeney – Being Time IV
Roger Admiral – piano
Chenoa Anderson – flutes
Allison Balcetis – saxophones
Mark Segger – percussion

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.
