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Left to right: Marcela Lucatelli (photo by Ana Alexandrino), Sarah Albu (photo by Martin Morisette), and Jean-François Daigneault.

Newswire | Chants Libres Launches OPER’ACTUEL

By Newswire on 17 August 2026 Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire, Opera, Vocal

Montreal, August 17, 2026 — After eight editions presented as a concert, OPER’ACTUEL is taking the next step. From September 21 to 26, Chants Libres will launch the very first edition of its biennial OPER’ACTUEL festival, a full week dedicated to contemporary opera creation. More than a change in format, this new approach reflects a renewed vision of contemporary opera. In addition to performances, the festival will feature workshops, professional showcases, conferences, discussions, public talks and auditions, making OPER’ACTUEL a space for reflection, experimentation and professional development for both artists and audiences. “The new format of OPER’ACTUEL is designed as…

L-R: Élisabeth Pion, Julien Proulx. Photo: Orchestre de la Francophonie

Orchestre de la francophonie: Empowering the Next Generation in Montreal

By Heather Weinreb on 23 July 2026 Classical Music, Montreal, Orchestral

Summer 2026 marks Julien Proulx’s first tenure as Artistic Director of Orchestre de la francophonie (OF). Founded in 2001 by Jean-Philippe Tremblay, OF brings pre-professional musicians from across the French-speaking world to Montreal for an intensive six-week orchestral training program. In addition to being the conductor for Orchestre symphonique de Drummondville, Proulx has spent previous summers coaching budding conductors at OF’S sister organization, Institut canadien d’art vocal (ICAV), an opera training program. “I love working with young musicians,” says Proulx. OF members, he notes, “play exceptionally well,” with many pursuing advanced degrees on their instrument. The conductor, then, has the…

Newswire | Orchestre de la francophonie Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary with a First Season Led by Julien Proulx

By Newswire on 21 July 2026 Classical, Classical Music, Montreal, Newswire

Montreal, June 19, 2026 — As it celebrates its 25th anniversary, l’Orchestre de la francophonie (OF) season shines a spotlight on emerging artistic talent from Canada and abroad. From July 4 to August 2, 2026, over 50 young musicians again will take part in the Orchestra’s summer academy and will perform in a series of concerts at some of Montreal’s most iconic venues. Under the artistic direction of the award-winning Julien Proulx, who begins his first term at the helm of the OF, and under the leadership of John Wiens, general director, this anniversary season will celebrate mentorship, artistic development,…

Newswire | Mike Herriott Premieres Tales of Tricksters and Vagabonds Suite on Four-City Canadian Tour This Fall

By Newswire on 14 July 2026 Jazz, Mainstream Jazz, Montreal, Newswire, Scena Jazz, Toronto, Vancouver, West

TORONTO, ON — Toronto-based trumpeter, multi-instrumentalist, and composer Mike Herriott will take his most ambitious work to the stage this fall, presenting the world-premiere live performances of the Tales of Tricksters and Vagabonds Suite on a four-city tour across Canada. The tour visits Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, and Montreal for six performances in total, running September 28 through October 24, 2026. Built on Herriott’s 2023 album of the same name (H&H Records), the suite is an original programmatic work for large jazz ensemble that portrays six unforgettable figures from folklore and literature: the scheming cat of Puss in Boots, the gold-spinning…

Lizz Wright & Kenny Banks Sr.

Review | Lizz Wright at Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

By Amanda Wong on 2 July 2026 Concert Reviews, Jazz, Montreal, Piano, Vocal

Lizz Wright is a woman of class and pure, pure music. She sings, and she sings well, her voice carrying the weight of legends before her. As a self-proclaimed woman from the “swamps of Georgia,” she came a fair distance to perform for the first time at Festival International de Jazz de Montréal on June 29. Along with her longtime friend and accompanist Kenny Banks Sr., Wright performed a wonderful 10-piece set of both originals and jazz standards in the intimate space at Théâtre Jean-Duceppe within the Place des Arts complex. As a lifelong member of the church, her voice…

Max Richter at Festival International de Jazz de Montréal. Photo: Victor Diaz Lamich

Review | Max Richter at Festival International de Jazz de Montréal

By Amanda Wong on 29 June 2026 Concert Reviews, Contemporary, Montreal, Piano, Strings

There’s a certain depth in minimalistic compositions that makes you keen to appreciate more. Max Richter, the British-German composer behind a host of emotional movie scores, opened the annual Festival International de Jazz de Montréal (FIJM) with a well-met performance in Salle Wilfred-Pelletier on June 25. Richter is a true artist, capable of stirring up great depth from the most deceptively simple of notes. This concert focused on two of his albums played by American Contemporary Music Ensemble (ACME) and Richter himself: In A Landscape (2024), his most recent album, and the widely regarded The Blue Notebooks (2004). Richter played…

Newswire | Order of Canada Appointees in the Arts – June 26, 2026

By Newswire on 26 June 2026 Classical Music, Dance, Film, Literature, Montreal, Multimedia, Newswire, Ottawa, Philanthropy, Quebec City, Theatre, Toronto, Visual Arts, West

OTTAWA, Ontario—Her Excellency the Right Honourable Louise Arbour, Governor General of Canada, announces 61 new appointments to the Order of Canada, including 4 Companions, 19 Officers and 38 Members. Five appointments represent promotions within the Order. The Order of Canada is the cornerstone of the Canadian Honours System. Since its creation in 1967, nearly 8 800 people from all sectors of society have been appointed to or promoted within to the Order. The contributions of these trailblazers are varied, yet they have all enriched the lives of others and made a difference to this country. “The Order of Canada recognizes those…

Jens Lindemann

Review | Jens Lindemann – Brass On Fire!

By Amanda Wong on 24 June 2026 Concert Reviews, Jazz, Montreal, Piano, Strings

While Montreal anticipates its annual summer jazz festival, there are plenty of other fascinating, if lesser-known music festivals throughout the city. The Montreal Chamber Music Festival held its own lively jazz night on June 19, inviting distinguished trumpeter Jens Lindemann to Salle Bourgie for Brass on Fire!, a delicious and energetic performance of around 15 pieces celebrating not only jazz, but musical joy as a whole. Lindemann, hailing from Alberta, was as charismatic as he was virtuosic. In addition to his mastery of the seven brass instruments he brought onstage (mostly trumpets), his brilliant comedic timing tied all the pieces…

Guitarists José Brites & Rodrigo Simões, singer Suzi Silva & percussionist Ziya Tabassian. Photo: Peter Graham

Review | VoixMonde: Fado Transports Audience to Portuguese Seaside

By Heather Weinreb on 18 June 2026 Concert Reviews, Montreal, Vocal, World Music

On June 16, the VoixMonde concert series, which presents traditional music of Montreal’s immigrant communities, continued with a performance of Portuguese fado at le 9e (Eaton Centre). Literally translated to “destiny,” or “fate,” fado songs evoke a sense of longing and nostalgia in listeners. What you missed As singer Suzi Silva sang of lost mariners, and the lovers who longed for them, the audience was immersed in the atmosphere of a salty seaside Portuguese tavern. She artfully described the content of each song’s lyrics before performing them, and was a very effective storyteller for this music. As a singer, she…

Soprano Marianne Lambert as Léa and mezzo-soprano Kristin Hoff as Madeleine. Photo: Kevin Calixte

Review | L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi, a Poignant Story

By Wah Keung Chan on 17 June 2026 Concert Reviews, Montreal, Opera, This Week in Montreal

Domestic violence against women and femicide are increasingly in the news. A revival of the opera L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi by composer Laurence Jobidon and librettist Pascale St-Onge brings the topic to the forefront in an emotionally charged story. What you missed L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi was developed as a voice-piano production for the Atelier lyrique of the Opéra de Montréal years ago, but due to the COVID pandemic, the production was only filmed and webcasted in November 2020. Since then, Opéra Magnolia (formerly Musique 3 femmes) has commissioned a new version for six instruments and produced the…

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