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Toronto Mendelssohn Choir: St. Matthew Passion Speaks Across Boundaries

By Denise Lai on 2 February 2026 Choral, Classical Music, Toronto

It is hard to imagine that even a composer as great as J.S. Bach endured decades of obscurity after his death in 1750. It was none other than Felix Mendelssohn who revived Bach’s legacy. In 1829, he conducted the first public performance of the St. Matthew Passion, almost a century after its 1727 Good Friday premiere at Leipzig’s St. Thomas Church. Bach, and his work, became “overnight” sensations and the rest, as they say, was history. Not only does the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir have a special connection to the work’s late-found fame through its namesake composer, it was also the…

Tafelmusik: Restoring Dance to Rameau

By Holly Harris on 2 February 2026 Arts Industry, Baroque and Early, Classical Music, Dance, Orchestral, Theatre, Toronto

Tafelmusik puts on its party shoes when it presents Rameau and the Art of Dance this month (February). Internationally-acclaimed baroque violinist Robert Mealy, artistic director of The Juilliard School’s historical performance program, leads a program of French baroque suites spotlighting Rameau’s magnificent operas. The Berkeley, Calif.-born performer and teacher is director of the Boston Early Music Festival Orchestra, principal concertmaster for Trinity Wall Street’s baroque orchestra, as well as co-director of the chamber group Quicksilver. For its Rameau program, Tafelmusik musicians will be joined by 15 string and wind players from Juilliard415, the school’s principal period-instrument ensemble founded in 2009.…

Kerry-Anne Kutz, Julie Leblanc, Monique Fauteux and Catherine Léveillé of Quatuor Musaïque

Festival de la Voix: Montreal’s Celebration of the Voice

By Kaitlyn Chan on 2 February 2026 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, Classical, Contemporary, Interviews, Montreal, Vocal, Vocal Jazz

Vox Aeterna was founded in 2008 to foster the vocal arts scene in and around Montreal, encouraging the growth of vocal concerts and educational opportunities. Four years later, the charitable organization created Festival de la Voix with these same principles in mind. The multi-week festival introduces audiences to professional vocalists from various backgrounds, cultures and musical styles. Discovering Beautiful Voices Artistic Director Kerry-Anne Kutz’s well-trained ear makes her an excellent judge of talent. “The first thing that I think about—no matter what the genre—is the beauty of the voice,” she says about programming. From established artists such as soprano Myriam…

Vanessa Sears (Juliet) and cast in Mirvish's & Juliet. Photo: Dahlia Katz

Musical Theatre Calendar (February 2026)

By Emma Yee on 2 February 2026 Guides, Montreal, Musical Theatre, Ottawa, Quebec City, Theatre, Toronto, Vocal

TORONTO Mirvish: & Juliet Through May 31. Royal Alexandra Theatre, 260 King St. West, Toronto. $59–149. Read more in our feature on George Krissa. www.mirvish.com Mirvish: Shucked March 3–April 5. Princess of Wales Theatre, 300 King St. West, Toronto. $59–199. The Tony-winning original musical country-pop comedy, Shucked, tells about Maizy, who must travel to Tampa to save her hometown of Cob County. Hilarity—and corn puns—ensue, starring Canadian Danielle Wade (a Toronto favourite), alongside Miki Abraham and Nick Bailey. www.mirvish.com Shifting Ground Collective: The Drowsy Chaperone March 7–21. Theatre Passe Muraille, 16 Ryerson Ave., Toronto. $15–65. The three-time Dora-Award-winning Gen-Z-run company,…

Photo: Hilary Gauld/One for the Wall (left) and Tam Photography (right)

Andrei Feher: Leadership that Listens

By Heather Weinreb on 2 February 2026 Arts Industry, Chamber Music, Classical Music, Interviews, Montreal, Orchestral

Andrei Feher knows something about the importance of cultural accessibility. The conductor, now musical director of Orchestre Classique de Montréal (OCM), spent the first 13 years of his life in the provincial city of Satu Mare, Romania. Despite its modest size, his hometown boasted a vibrant cultural scene. “There was a theatre company, a symphonic orchestra, and the city has about 100,000 inhabitants,” he says. “Especially in Europe, we often see that no matter the size of the city, there is something very central—whether it’s theatre, opera, or orchestra. Something that truly sits at the heart of the city.” With…

NYO Canada at Symphony SPLASH! (2025). Photo: Kevin Light Photography

National Youth Orchestra of Canada: Facing Change with Transparency

By Kaitlyn Chan on 2 February 2026 Education, Interviews, Orchestral, Toronto

In early November, the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (NYO Canada) announced a necessary restructuring of their summer training program, transitioning to a four-week intensive format from its previous five-week schedule. After assessing their financial situation, the national organization saw a need to pull back in some areas to ensure long-term financial stability. “Rather than driving ourselves right off the cliff, we can see the cliff in sight,” says CEO Christie Gray. “Now it’s time to kind of slow down and say, ‘Let’s scale back a little bit for the sake of organizational health, run a balanced budget, and live…

Diana Rockwell. Photo: Angela Gzowski

VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert: Young Artists Shine in Little-Known Gems

By Emma Yee on 2 February 2026 Interviews, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

VOICEBOX: Opera in Concert’s spring season will feature two rarely-performed works by beloved composers: Bellini’s La sonnambula and Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars. The company, founded in 1974 by beloved opera coach and radio personality Stuart Hamilton, has a mission to feature young Canadian singers in non-standard repertoire. “We feature these singers in major roles,” says Artistic Director Guillermo Silva-Marin, “and hopefully the repertoire protects them because there is no rule of comparison. No Plácido Domingo has done it, no Luciano Pavarotti has done it—so that is an advantage for us in featuring young singers and enhancing their potential…

Andrew Wells-Oberegger. Photo: Alex BG

La Nef: Folkdance, Ancient Style

By Nathalie de Han on 2 February 2026 Dance, Folk, Montreal, World Music

Returning from a master class in Austria, Andrew Wells-Oberegger proposed the idea of a program of balfolk—Aufregend! Exaltant!—to Claire Gignac, artistic director of La Nef. It is inspired by traditional dances and music from Austria, France and Sweden that date back to the 18th and 19th centuries. Wells-Oberegger’s Déjouer le glas was nominated for concert of the year at the 29th Opus Awards Gala. For his La Nef show, he draws on the form and rhythm of period tunes, adding in contemporary accents to render them timeless. From his Austrian travels, Wells-Oberegger brought back a bock—or Bohemian bagpipe—and it is…

View of the Old Quebec City, with its many levels and stairs. Photo: Hugo Laporte

Cityscapes | Quebec City, Que.

By Justin Bernard on 2 February 2026 Art of Living, Interviews, Quebec City

Welcome to Cityscapes From coast to coast, Canada offers magnificent natural landscapes and culturally diverse cities. In this issue, we highlight Quebec City’s inspiring locations, music and arts scene, and unique neighbourhoods. We invited two local artists to tell us what they love most about the provincial capital. Hugo Laporte A native of Quebec City, baritone Hugo Laporte is also co-founding vice-president of the Réunion des opéras du Québec, whose mission is to contribute to the development and sustainability of opera in Quebec by promoting collaboration among stakeholders in the field. In 2023, he made his debut at Milan’s Teatro…

Élisabeth Pion Photo: Jeremy Fokkens/Courtesy of Honens International Piano Competition

Élisabeth Pion: Capturing Honens Gold

By Viktor Lazarov on 2 February 2026 Chamber Music, Classical Music, Music Competition, Piano, West

Twenty-nine-year-old pianist Élisabeth Pion, a Quebec native, won the coveted Gold Laureate prize at the 2025 Honens International Piano Competition in Calgary last October. Occurring every three to four years, the elite competition offers a lofty $100,000 cash prize and a three-year Artist Development Program valued at $500,000 for the lucky winner. Honens occupies a special place among the world’s “track and field” keyboard events. It searches for the elusive and undefinable “complete artist,” a term that applies only to the rarest of contestants, while dividing jury, critics and public alike on notions of taste, values, and esthetics. Pion demonstrated…

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