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Vivian Chen (harp) with Chor Leoni conducted by Erick Lichte. Photo: Philip Jack

Review | The Big Roar: Chor Leoni’s Heartwarming Celebration of Choral Music

By Kaitlyn Chan on 6 May 2025 Canadian Music, Choral, Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Vancouver, Vocal

On May 3, the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts was filled with the enthusiastic voices of both young and experienced choral singers. This event, The Big Roar, is Chor Leoni’s signature community choral festival. Chor Leoni was joined by MYVoice educational choirs, the young singers of its PRÉLUDE program, its Emerging Choral Artist Program (ECAP), and The Leonids, bringing joy and vigor to this special afternoon event. The programme was diverse, featuring traditional Malaysian folk music, Broadway as well as classical a cappella pieces such as “O Nata Lux.” After the intermission, Chor Leoni performed Melissa Dunphy’s major choral…

A scene from Vancouver Opera’s Madama Butterfly. Photo: Emily Cooper Photography

Review | Vancouver Opera Brings Respect and Care to Madama Butterfly

By Kaitlyn Chan on 29 April 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vancouver, Vocal

Although acclaimed as one of Giacomo Puccini’s greatest works, Madama Butterfly has received plenty of criticism over the years for its orientalism. Historically, productions have infantilized and sexualized Asian women, simplified and stereotyped Asian culture in design and performance, and used yellowface to change the appearance of white performers playing East Asian characters. For this production of Butterfly, Vancouver Opera (VO) reflected on these criticisms of the opera’s story and past performances. Their conscious effort to listen, learn, and prioritize East Asian perspectives adds a refreshing and necessary layer of depth to this beautifully tragic opera (seen Apr. 26th). Recontextualizing…

City Opera Vancouver presents the Canadian Premiere of ‘Sophia’s Forest’

By Newswire on 28 April 2025 Classical Music, Opera, Vancouver, Vocal

Blending traditional operatic storytelling with cutting-edge innovation, the poignant chamber opera explores the wounds of war and the resilience of the human spirit Vancouver, BC – City Opera Vancouver (COV) is proud to present the Canadian premiere of Sophia’s Forest, a powerfully evocative chamber opera by composer Lembit Beecher and librettist Hannah Moscovitch, on stage May 29 to 31, 2025 at 7:30pm and June 1, 2025 at 2pm at Studio T at SFU’s Goldcorp Centre for the Arts. Directed by Julie McIsaac, under the baton of COV Artistic Director Gordon Gerrard, the groundbreaking one-act opera explores timely themes through the…

Hubert Hazebroucq and Ensemble Doulce Mémoire

Review | Hubert Hazebroucq Leads Choreographed Splendor with EMV and Ensemble Doulce Mémoire

By Madeline Boldt on 17 April 2025 Baroque and Early, Concert Reviews, Dance, Vancouver

Doulce Mémoire is an old French phrase that can be translated as “sweet memory,” a poetic connection to the past. This is what Ensemble Doulce Mémoire and Renaissance and baroque dance specialist Hubert Hazebroucq brought to the Vancouver Playhouse for Early Music Vancouver’s presentation of Now Let Us Dance on April 12th. A tribute to song and dance of the 15th and 16th centuries, the performance was unlike anything I had ever seen or heard before. The narrative aspect of the show kept the audience holding onto every detail with the show divided into four separate story segments. The first was…

Alto saxophonists with the group Tues 7:30 pm w/ James. Photo: Madeline Boldt

Review | VSO School of Music Presents the Future of Jazz

By Madeline Boldt on 15 April 2025 Concert Reviews, Jazz, Vancouver

The VSO School of Music fosters the future of jazz, and this talent was on full display at the Vancouver Playhouse on April 10th. The Rising Stars of Jazz was an incredible blend of jazz combos and big band performances, with a common thread: these young musicians demonstrated incredible skill and passion that transcended all expectations of a youth ensemble. Featuring artists as young as eighth grade, the sound created by each ensemble was rich, dynamic, and full of personality. One of many things that these young musicians had to offer was a sense of fun, from their funky group…

Upcoming Concerts

By La Scena Musicale Team on 3 April 2025 Classical Music, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver

Highlights of upcoming Canadian concerts selected by Madeline Boldt, Kaitlyn Chan, and Gianmarco Segato. Montreal Bourgie Hall Pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin returns to Bourgie Hall on April 12 to play works by Debussy, Albéniz, Poulenc, and Chopin. This concert concludes with the four Scherzos by Chopin, one of Richard-Hamelin’s favourite composers. In the following week, Les Idées heureuses performs their 17th Passion Concert. Since 2023, this project, established by Geneviève Soly, explores Christoph Graupner’s Passiontide cantatas, which were composed for Good Friday. Les Idées heureuses welcomes the same collaborators who have participated in this complete work since 2023 to perform four…

The 2025 Juno Awards: Classical and Jazz Categories

By Madeline Boldt on 30 March 2025 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Classical, Classical Music, Jazz, Music Competition, Vancouver

The 2025 Juno Awards, hosted on March 29th 2025, featured a number of prestigious awards in both classical music and jazz. Below are the recipients of each category. Classical Awards: Classical Album of the Year (Solo Artist) / Album Classique de l’Année (Solo) Freezing – Emily D’Angelo Deutsche Grammophon*Universal Classical Album of the Year (Small Ensemble) / Album Classique de l’Année (Petit Ensemble) Rituæls – collectif9 Analekta*Naxos/The Orchard Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble) / Album Classique de l’Année (Grand Ensemble) Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie – Toronto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gustavo Gimeno featuring Marc-André Hamelin and Nathalie Forget Harmonia Mundi…

Byron Stripling with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Photo: Madeline Boldt

Review | Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Rhythms of Harlem

By Madeline Boldt on 17 March 2025 Concert Reviews, Dance, Jazz, Orchestral, Vancouver, Vocal Jazz

With Uptown Nights (seen March 8), the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra paid tribute to the world of jazz as it was founded on the talents of Harlem era musicians. The rise of jazz coincided with the emergence of incredible musicians like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald. As it became increasingly popular throughout the Roaring Twenties, jazz served as an outlet for expression and freedom, with its unpredictability and syncopation resonating with audiences for generations to come. Beyond all else, jazz is a living, breathing thing, and trumpeter Byron Stripling embodies this. Stripling has a presence like no other, with…

Laura Grizzlypaws and her daughter. Photo: Chris Randle

Report | Coastal Dance Festival: Rhythms of Connection

By Madeline Boldt on 17 March 2025 Dance, Indigenous, Vancouver

From March 4-9, Vancouver hosted the 18th annual Coastal Dance Festival, bringing together Indigenous artists to share and support one another in a celebration of lived artistic practices. It was a celebration of community, culture, and spiritual connection with the lands upon which we stand. Upon entering UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, one could tell that this festival extended far beyond entertainment. The performance space was surrounded by towering totem poles, strikingly lit to emphasize every little carving in the cedar. At the two evening performances on Mar. 4 and 5, three separate dance groups took the stage. Each one was…

New Release: Triptych – A compelling bridge between jazz and classical music

By Newswire on 7 March 2025 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Jazz, Newswire, Piano, Vancouver

Duo Fedorova & Takser, piano duo The work was composed by Nikolai Kapustin in 2012 and published by Schott this year (2024). This recording is the first official release. Kapustin was a well-known insider tip as a composer of notated jazz music that sounds improvised when performed correctly. 2025 marks the fifth anniversary of Kapustin’s death, who would have turned 88. Even five years after the death of the ingenious composer Nikolai Kapustin, his music, as an artist who bridged musical worlds, is unfortunately still an insider tip. How fortunate that musicians like the renowned Vancouver based piano duo Fedorova…

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