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Emily Rocha. Photo Sam Gaetz; Nikan Ingabire Kanate. Photo: Michael Cooper; Gabrielle Turgeon. Photo: Leah Minium

Discover Emerging Classical Stars in CBC’s 30 Under 30

By Kaitlyn Chan on 20 July 2026 Classical Music, Music Competition, Piano, Strings, Vocal, Winds

July 20, 2026 — Today, CBC Music released their annual “30 under 30” list, which recognizes emerging Canadian classical musicians and their achievements. The news source has published a list every year since 2013 to celebrate young Canadian talent. La Scena Musicale has recently spotted some of this young talent in our own coverage including sopranos Emily Rocha, Nikan Ingabire Kanate and Gabrielle Turgeon, and pianist Grégoire Abadie. Read CBC’s “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30” for 2026 here.

Canadian Bassoonist Michael Quigley Competes at The Muri Competition

By Kaitlyn Chan on 13 April 2026 Classical Music, Music Competition, Winds

April 2026 – This year, Montreal-born bassoonist Michael Quigley made history as the first ever Canadian to qualify for and compete at The Muri Competition, an international competition for bassoonists and oboists based in Muri, Switzerland. In this fifth edition of the competition, Quigley has progressed to the second round and will compete for a spot at the semifinals. More than 300 oboists and bassoonists from all over the world applied for The Muri Competition 2026. The preliminary jury listened to each recording anonymously and decided by the end of December 2025 which musicians to invite to the competition in…

Jean-Philippe Sylvestre with Orchestre Classique de Montréal. Photo: Tam Photography

Review | Polish Gems with Orchestre Classique de Montréal

By Amanda Wong on 17 March 2026 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Montreal, Orchestral, Piano, Vocal, Winds

On an unassuming night in the seclusion of Montreal’s Salle Pierre-Mercure, Orchestre Classique de Montréal (OCM) welcomed three unique soloists to perform a stylistically diverse program, unified under a theme of Polish music. Under the direction of OCM’s music director Andrei Feher, soprano Karoline Podolak, clarinettist Kornel Wolak (both Polish), and local pianist Jean-Philippe Sylvestre presented pieces by Frédéric Chopin (to no one’s surprise given the theme), Stanisław Moniuszko and Mieczysław Weinberg, as well as more contemporary pieces including works by Wojciech Kilar. The OCM, this time, was just a small group of string-only players. Sylvestre and Wolak kicked off…

Photo: Bill Blackstone

Mécénat Musica | Matthias Maute: Ambassador-in-residence

By Justin Bernard on 28 October 2025 Arts Industry, Chamber Music, Classical Music, Winds

Mécénat Musica Ambassador-in-Residence presents Mécénat Musica in the cultural community and helps cultural organizations join Mécénat Musica. The Ambassador encourages organizations to expand the circle of donors and to help create a culture of permanent capital in the community. Matthias Maute’s collaborative efforts have resulted in 15 cultural organizations joining Mécénat Musica since 2013. Maute is a two-time Juno Award winner, choir and orchestral conductor, composer and flutist. His Montreal orchestra, Ensemble Caprice, has been described by the New York Times as “an ensemble that invites the listener to rehear the world.” When he left his native Germany for Quebec…

Mécénat Musica | Crowdfunding Grant Recipients

By Hal Kowalewski on 28 October 2025 Arts Industry, Education, Montreal, Musical Theatre, Opera, Strings, Winds

INFUSION BAROQUE Mécénat Musica’s support of Infusion Baroque culminated in the group’s 2024 album East is East. According to the group’s violinist, Sallynee Amawat, the album is a “dynamic, intercultural collaboration of artists from Western European, Persian and Indian traditions.” Since its inception in 2013, Infusion Baroque has aimed to draw new audiences to early music. Its four members—violinist Amawat, as well as Alexa Raine-Wright (baroque flute and recorder), Andrea Stewart (baroque cello) and Rona Nadler (harpsichord)—prioritize historical accuracy. “Infusion Baroque’s practice has been to champion rare and underheard voices in the field of early music through research and close…

Editorial (October 2025)

By Wah Keung Chan on 4 October 2025 Arts Industry, Winds

Welcome to the October 2025 national issue of La Scena Musicale, which includes our annual October special, Rising Stars, with profiles of 11 promising musicians (pp. 38-41), along with our annual Competition Guide (p. 34). This issue is our first special on woodwinds. The French cover showcases Ensemble Caprice’s two flutists Matthias Maute and Sophie Larivière. The cover of the English edition features Autour de la flute’s two flutists Mika Putterman and Aleks Schürmer. Other related articles include: our pick of the top-10 orchestral woodwind solos; woodwind maintenance and repair; and a profile of celebrated Serbian flutist Ljubiša Jovanović, who…

Photo: Bo Huang

Rising Stars | Jason Xu – OSM Competition

By Kaitlyn Chan on 3 October 2025 Interviews, Winds

Last year, Ming Jie (Jason) Xu made history as the first saxophonist to win the OSM Competition. He looks back fondly on the experience, especially the opportunity to perform his own arrangement of George Bizet’s “Air de La Fleur” from Carmen in the semifinal round. “In that moment, I did not care about anything but [playing] my heart out—and people really loved it!” he says. Expression is a driving force behind Xu’s journey to become a full-time musician. His playing allows him to convey his emotions and connect with the audience through this form of storytelling. He aims to improve…

National Arts Centre Orchestra Woodwinds. Photo: Curtis Perry

Woodwinds : La Scena’s Top 10 Solos

By Justin Bernard on 3 October 2025 Orchestral, Romantic, Winds

It must be recognized that composers love to showcase the flute, oboe, French horn, clarinet and bassoon front and centre in symphonic repertoire with solos, both long and short. These melodies stay with us long after the concert is over. The following is a ranked list of the 10 most memorable woodwind solos, with a few forays into opera and concert music, excluding concertos written especially for this family of instruments, since these deserve their own ranking. So, a disclaimer: no Vivaldi nor Telemann in this list, but a brief note on Johann Sebastian Bach. BEETHOVEN, SYMPHONY NO. 7 This…

Nadia Labrie : When the Flute Takes Up Jazz

By Justin Bernard on 3 October 2025 Classical, Interviews, Jazz, Winds

Thanks to Picnic Suite, a new digital album released in August by Nadia Labrie, listeners have been able to discover another work for flute, guitar and jazz trio with piano by French jazz pianist and composer Claude Bolling. This is the third instalment of a project dedicated to the composer who died in 2020—a project that will culminate in the release of a box set of three recordings to be released by ATMA Classique on Nov. 24, bringing together his complete works for flute. Labrie’s latest album is part of the Flûte Passion series, which began in 2018 and has…

Autour de la Flûte: A World of Flutes

By Heather Weinreb on 3 October 2025 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Montreal, Winds

Mika Putterman does not identify with the stereotypical description of a flutist. When it was time to “choose a real instrument” after having played recorder in school, Putterman’s parents thought their daughter matched the description of flutists in Attarah Ben-Tovim’s book, The Right Instrument for Your Child. For Ben-Tovim, flutists are people prone to daydreaming and forgetfulness. Yet Putterman, founding director of the Montreal-based concert series Autour de la Flûte (ADLF), approaches the flute more as a hard-nosed detective than a dreamer with her head in the clouds. “I’m very intellectual,” she says. “I get all the facts and then…

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