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An Indigenous Playlist: Indigenous Artists Select their Favourite Tunes

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 June 2025 Classical Music, Contemporary, Indigenous, Popular Music

In celebration of National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21, La Scena Musicale asked several Indigenous artists to help create a playlist. Each artist selected one song by an Indigenous musician or composer and explained why they chose the piece. Discover what some of Canada’s incredible Indigenous creators are listening to in their song selections below. Eadsé www.eadsemusic.com Eadsé, which means “my good friend” in Wendat, is a Wendat singer-songwriter based in Montreal. She was recently named a 2025-26 Radio-Canada Revelation following the release of her first album Healer, which explores healing, resilience and letting go in French, English and…

Juan Duarte and Kyra Soo in Endless Summer. Photo: Jack Tupper

Review | MOVETHECOMPANY’s Gala is All About the Dancers

By Kaija Pepper on 2 June 2025 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Dance, Scena Arts, Vancouver

It was great to see a well-filled Vancouver Playhouse on the May 29th opening night of MOVETHECOMPANY’s 20th Anniversary Gala, with another crowd booked in for the second, closing show. Artistic director Joshua Beamish brought in a few leading dancers from major international ballet companies to up the glamour and give Vancouverites a welcome dose of pointe shoes and elegance—ballet is a hard sell in this city, and companies have stopped touring here, leaving many bereft. The earthiness and quirks of contemporary dance were also much in evidence—all five pieces were choreographed by Beamish, who straddles both worlds. The highlight…

Michael Bridge, accordion. Photo: Sam Gaetz

Michael Bridge: Accordion Virtuoso

By Justin Bernard on 1 June 2025 Classical Music, Contemporary, Interviews, Popular Music, Toronto

One must have several talents to be an accomplished artist: technical skills that make you rare and sought-after, perseverance, vision, a sense of showmanship to give the audience an exceptional experience—and, in addition, the ability to adapt to life’s circumstances. In a nutshell, this is the philosophy and work ethic of Michael Bridge, who though Calgary-born and Toronto-based, has dedicated himself to the most Latin of musical instruments! “I’m generally the only one doing what I do,” he says of playing the accordion. And Bridge does it well. In June, he kicks off his summer tour in Edmonton at the…

Murdoch Mysteries in Concert

Summer with the National Arts Centre Orchestra: From Murdoch Mysteries to Beethoven

By Kaitlyn Chan on 30 May 2025 Classical Music, Contemporary, Interviews, Orchestral, Ottawa

National Arts Centre Orchestra’s (NACO) programming continues this summer with a mix of contemporary and classical works ranging from Murdoch Mysteries in Concert (July 10–11) to Symphonic Waves: Beethoven for Everyone (July 17). Murdoch Mysteries in Concert In collaboration with CBC television’s long-running Murdoch Mysteries, NACO will bring the show to new life in the concert hall. Audiences can watch an episode, “Murder in F Major,” on the big screen, accompanied by a live symphonic score. “During one of my very first experiences watching the show in concert, I was struck with all the collective laughs. It was nice to…

Pierre Bourgie at Salle Bourgie's 2025–2026 season launch event. Photo: Frédéric Faddoul

Salle Bourgie’s 15th Anniversary: Building on Success

By La Scena Musicale Team on 1 May 2025 Chamber Music, Classical Music, Contemporary, Interviews, Jazz, Montreal, Newswire, Piano, Strings, Vocal

By: Madeline Boldt and Adrian Rodriguez Salle Bourgie marked its 15th anniversary on April 29 with a season launch that highlighted its steady growth and continued commitment to musical excellence. The event brought together artists, partners, and the public for an overview of what’s to come in 2025–2026. The launch featured three short performances that reflected the range of programming ahead. Soprano Aline Kutan, with pianist Michael McMahon, performed a lyrical selection that opened the evening with warmth. Historical clarinetist Maryse Legault was joined by Gili Loftus on the pianoforte for a nuanced exploration of early music. Later, Sal Sissokho…

Sarah Dufresne. Photo: The Musician’s Photographer

Les Violons du Roy: Striking the balance between tradition and modernity

By Justin Bernard on 31 March 2025 Baroque and Early, Chamber Music, Contemporary, Quebec City

On March 20, Les Violons du Roy unveiled their 42nd season. Between October 2025 and May 2026, they will present concerts in both Quebec City and Montreal, as is their tradition. The season includes great choral works, more intimate pieces, thematic events as well as more contemporary repertoire. In Montreal, the chamber orchestra will perform three times at Maison symphonique and seven times at Bourgie Hall. At Palais Montcalm in Quebec City, 11 evening concerts, six afternoon concerts and, in its smaller hall, four aperitif concerts are scheduled. “There’s a certain craze for afternoon concerts on Thursdays. More and more…

Queen, Herbie Hancock, and Barbara Hannigan named Polar Music Prize laureates

By Newswire on 18 March 2025 Arts Industry, Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Music Competition, Newswire, Orchestral, Piano

QUEEN, HERBIE HANCOCK AND BARBARA HANNIGAN ANNOUNCED AS 2025 POLAR MUSIC PRIZE LAUREATES Award ceremony will take place on Tuesday 27 May in Stockholm #polarmusicprize Stockholm, Tuesday 18 March: Queen, Herbie Hancock and Barbara Hannigan are today announced as recipients of the 2025 Polar Music Prize. The trio will join the roll call of trailblazing artists all bestowed with the prestigious honour, which celebrates excellence in music. The Polar Music Prize ceremony takes place on Tuesday 27 May in Stockholm at the Grand Hôtel and is broadcast live in Sweden on TV4 at 8pm (CET). For three decades, the Polar…

Rameau et la muse oubliée, a musical theatre performance

By Newswire on 17 March 2025 Canadian Music, Classical, Contemporary, Montreal, Musical Theatre, Newswire, Theatre, Vocal

Rameau et la muse oubliée, a brilliant new show at the Théâtre Rouge of the Conservatoire de musique et d’art dramatique de Montréal with Luc Beauséjour and Marie-Ève Beaulieu Montreal, March 17th, 2025. Clavecin en concert invites you to a musical theatre on March 29th and 30th. In the afterlife, almost 300 years after his death, composer Jean-Philippe Rameau (Luc Beauséjour) is visited by a young woman (Marie-Ève Beaulieu), who claims to have inspired the character of Zima in his famous opera Les Indes galantes. Suffering from oblivion, she confronts the composer, demanding justice or, at the very least, a little…

Photo: Tam Photography

Noémie Raymond-Friset: Beyond the Printed Score

By Madeline Boldt on 31 January 2025 Classical, Classical Music, Contemporary, Montreal, Piano, Strings

To cellist Noémie Raymond-Friset, music is just as much about heart as it is about technique. For her, the cello is a means of forging profound connections—with collaborators, audiences, and even communities worlds away. Born to music-loving parents who filled her early life with the sounds of Bach suites, Raymond-Friset picked up the violin at the age of four. But it was the cello that resonated with her three years later. “I found my instrument,” she recalls. “Something about the tone, the sound, and the register really spoke to me.” In her early career, mentors like violinist superstars Midori and…

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…

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