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Marc-André Hamelin (piano) and Orchestre symphonique de Montréal conducted by Rafael Payare. Photo: Antoine Saito

Review | Marc-André Hamelin & OSM Swing in The Roaring Twenties

By Amanda Wong on 24 February 2025 Canadian Music, Concert Reviews, Jazz, Montreal, Orchestral

The Roaring Twenties was an age of dramatic social and economic change, fabulous fashion, and of course, great music. A century onwards, Orchestre symphonique de Montréal celebrated the 1920s with Montreal native Marc-André Hamelin on keys and Rafael Payare conducting in an evening of jazz, swing, and ragtime tunes popularized by the era. What you missed Hamelin’s dapper white jacket stood out in the spotlight as he played Edward Elzear “Zez” Confrey’s Kitten on the Keys solo on a small upright piano to the right of the stage, the program opener. The piece’s jaunty and ragtime feel imitated a cat…

Tenor Frédéric Antoun, conductor Kent Nagano, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the OSM Chorus give the world premiere of 2016 AMP Laureate Brian Current’s prize-winning Seven Heavenly Halls at Maison symphonique de Montréal.

Azrieli Music, Arts and Culture Centre Opens its Call for Scores & Proposals for the 2026 Azrieli Music Prizes

By Newswire on 10 February 2025 Canadian Music, Choral, Music Competition, Newswire, Orchestral, Toronto, World Music

Toronto, ON, Canada, 10 February 2025 – The Azrieli Music, Arts and Culture Centre (AMACC) has opened its international call to composers for the (AMP). For its sixth biennial cycle, AMP is seeking scores and proposals for choir and orchestra with optional soloists. The 2026 call is open from 7 February through 2 May 2025. Created in 2014 by Sharon Azrieli CQ for the Azrieli Foundation, AMP celebrates excellence in music composition by offering the largest prize package of its kind in Canada, making it one of the most substantial composition competitions in the world. “We are looking for composers who exhibit the most…

Vancouver Opera Announces 2025-2026 Season

By Newswire on 4 February 2025 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Newswire, Opera, Orchestral, Vancouver, Vocal

FEBRUARY 4, 2025, VANCOUVER, B.C. / Traditional territory of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations – Vancouver Opera announces an exciting and audience-inspired 2025–2026 season with three classic opera productions. The 2025-2026 season begins in October with Verdi’s eternally thrilling Rigoletto, followed by Mozart’s light-hearted Così fan tutte in February 2026. La Bohème, Puccini’s enduring love story, closes the season in blockbuster style with a five-show run in April/May 2026. “For our 66th season, we’re bringing operas by the art form’s greatest composers to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre stage,” said Tom Wright, Vancouver Opera General Director. “These…

Alexis Hauser and the McGill Symphony Orchestra

By Viktor Lazarov on 31 January 2025 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Classical, Classical Music, Montreal, Orchestral

Approaching 25 years of legacy A tall, energetic, and confident head of luscious white hair makes its way through rows of student performers comprising the McGill Symphony Orchestra (MGSO). With exacting standards, Maestro Alexis Hauser’s baton cuts through the air like decisive strokes of a sharp sabre. Yet, his generously open, music-loving heart, sincere communication and infectious good humour fill orchestra players and audience members with a sense of assurance and comfort. A beloved presence at the helm of the MGSO for nearly 25 years, Maestro Hauser recalls his encounters with conducting greatness during his youthful student days in Vienna,…

La Nef: Montréal la magnifique

By Arnaud G. Veydarier on 31 January 2025 Jazz, Montreal, Quebec Music, Strings, Winds

Although few traces remain of Montreal’s Roaring Twenties era, the city was once renowned as an oasis of pleasure and transgression—where cabarets, illegal gambling and prostitution drew crowds in search of daring theatrical presentations and clandestine parties. This cultural and social ferment shaped the city’s nocturnal imagination, an era that La Nef intends to bring back to life with its concert Montréal la magnifique. Presented on April 2 under the direction of singer-songwriter and accordionist Steve Normandin, the show will bring together the talents of Guillaume Bourque (clarinet), Serge Lavoie (guitar), Clinton Ryder (double bass) and Catherine Meunier (percussion). “Sin…

Choral Calendar

By Marie-Claire Fafard-Blais on 31 January 2025 Canadian Music, Choral, Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Vocal

MONTREAL Destinées March 22 at 7:30 p.m. – Maison symphonique The Chœur St-Laurent, directed by Philippe Bourque, in collaboration with the Chœur de l’Université de Montréal, presents William Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast, a monumental work for baritone, choir and orchestra. The program will be completed by Edward Elgar’s The Music Makers, performed by contralto Rose Naggar-Tremblay. www.choeur.qc.ca Edelweiss March 29 at 3 p.m. – Maison symphonique Ensemble ArtChoral, conducted by Matthias Maute, presents a springtime concert featuring some of the most beautiful works celebrating spring: Richard Rodgers’s Edelweiss; excerpts from Georges Bizet’s opera Carmen; Edward Elgar’s Lux Aeterna; and Léo Delibes’s…

Orchestras Guide for Quebec and Ontario

By La Scena Musicale Team on 31 January 2025 Canadian Music, Classical, Classical Music, Montreal, Orchestral, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto

QUEBEC Arion Orchestre Baroque arionbaroque.com At the heart of Montreal’s musical life for over forty years, Arion Orchestre Baroque is a pioneer in Quebec and Canada in the world of early music on period instruments. Under the artistic direction of conductor and bassoonist Mathieu Lussier since 2019, Arion presents a concert series featuring internationally renowned guest conductors and soloists. The clarity and freshness of Arion’s interpretations of Baroque and Classical works are underpinned by a discography of over thirty critically acclaimed and award-winning titles. Committed to the creation and dissemination of youth and educational projects, and a partner of renowned…

Montreal New Musics Festival: A fascinating Tower of Babel

By Justin Bernard on 31 January 2025 Canadian Music, Contemporary, Interviews

The theme of this 12th edition of the Montreal International New Musics Festival is “Music and Images.” Its program of 18 concerts will reopen a debate which has occupied the minds of composers even before the invention of cinema and which, in an increasingly digitized age, is becoming more and more relevant. Today, there seems to be no limit to the potential for interaction between sound and image. This ranges from cinema and video animation, to digital music, as well as all that music itself contributes to visual mediums. We met with SMCQ Artistic Director Simon Bertrand to discuss this…

Gwen Hoebig: Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster extraordinaire

By Holly Harris on 31 January 2025 Canadian Music, Classical, Classical Music, Orchestral, Vancouver

The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra wraps up its 2024-25 season on a poignant note this spring as its revered concertmaster, Gwen Hoebig, steps down from the position she’s held for an astonishing 37 years. The Vancouver-born musician lauded for her impeccable artistry currently holds the mantle as Canada’s longest-serving concertmaster, following the retirement of L’orchestre symphonique de Montréal’s Richard Roberts in September 2022 after his own 40 seasons. When asked what she’s most proud of from her decades-long tenure, Hoebig replies succinctly: “My playing, and also my relationship with my colleagues. … My overriding goal as concertmaster has always been to…

Credit: Vancouver Sun

Remembering Kazuyoshi Akiyama (1941-2025)

By Madeline Boldt on 29 January 2025 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Classical, Classical Music, Obituaries, Orchestral, Toronto, Vancouver

Legendary Japanese conductor Kazuyoshi Akiyama has passed away at the age of 84. A cornerstone of Vancouver’s classical music scene, Akiyama led the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra for over 13 years. Under his leadership from 1972 to 1985, the VSO transitioned from the Queen Elizabeth Theatre to the Orpheum, marking a new era of growth, increased ticket sales, and a revitalized sound. Early Life and Career Born in Japan in 1941, he launched into the world of classical music in 1964 when he made his debut with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. His immediate success earned him the roles of both Music…

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