Vancouver - my/maSCENA

Browsing: Vancouver

Vancouver articles, news, reviews

Alto saxophonists with the group Tues 7:30 pm w/ James. Photo: Madeline Boldt

Review | VSO School of Music Presents the Future of Jazz

By Madeline Boldt on 15 April 2025 Concert Reviews, Jazz, Vancouver, West

The VSO School of Music fosters the future of jazz, and this talent was on full display at the Vancouver Playhouse on April 10th. The Rising Stars of Jazz was an incredible blend of jazz combos and big band performances, with a common thread: these young musicians demonstrated incredible skill and passion that transcended all expectations of a youth ensemble. Featuring artists as young as eighth grade, the sound created by each ensemble was rich, dynamic, and full of personality. One of many things that these young musicians had to offer was a sense of fun, from their funky group…

Upcoming Concerts

By La Scena Musicale Team on 3 April 2025 Classical Music, Montreal, Ottawa, Quebec City, Toronto, Vancouver, West

Highlights of upcoming Canadian concerts selected by Madeline Boldt, Kaitlyn Chan, and Gianmarco Segato. Montreal Bourgie Hall Pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin returns to Bourgie Hall on April 12 to play works by Debussy, Albéniz, Poulenc, and Chopin. This concert concludes with the four Scherzos by Chopin, one of Richard-Hamelin’s favourite composers. In the following week, Les Idées heureuses performs their 17th Passion Concert. Since 2023, this project, established by Geneviève Soly, explores Christoph Graupner’s Passiontide cantatas, which were composed for Good Friday. Les Idées heureuses welcomes the same collaborators who have participated in this complete work since 2023 to perform four…

The 2025 Juno Awards: Classical and Jazz Categories

By Madeline Boldt on 30 March 2025 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Classical, Classical Music, Jazz, Music Competition, Vancouver, West

The 2025 Juno Awards, hosted on March 29th 2025, featured a number of prestigious awards in both classical music and jazz. Below are the recipients of each category. Classical Awards: Classical Album of the Year (Solo Artist) / Album Classique de l’Année (Solo) Freezing – Emily D’Angelo Deutsche Grammophon*Universal Classical Album of the Year (Small Ensemble) / Album Classique de l’Année (Petit Ensemble) Rituæls – collectif9 Analekta*Naxos/The Orchard Classical Album of the Year (Large Ensemble) / Album Classique de l’Année (Grand Ensemble) Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie – Toronto Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Gustavo Gimeno featuring Marc-André Hamelin and Nathalie Forget Harmonia Mundi…

Byron Stripling with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Photo: Madeline Boldt

Review | Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and the Rhythms of Harlem

By Madeline Boldt on 17 March 2025 Concert Reviews, Dance, Jazz, Orchestral, Vancouver, Vocal Jazz, West

With Uptown Nights (seen March 8), the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra paid tribute to the world of jazz as it was founded on the talents of Harlem era musicians. The rise of jazz coincided with the emergence of incredible musicians like Duke Ellington, Louis Armstrong, and Ella Fitzgerald. As it became increasingly popular throughout the Roaring Twenties, jazz served as an outlet for expression and freedom, with its unpredictability and syncopation resonating with audiences for generations to come. Beyond all else, jazz is a living, breathing thing, and trumpeter Byron Stripling embodies this. Stripling has a presence like no other, with…

Laura Grizzlypaws and her daughter. Photo: Chris Randle

Report | Coastal Dance Festival: Rhythms of Connection

By Madeline Boldt on 17 March 2025 Dance, Indigenous, Vancouver, West

From March 4-9, Vancouver hosted the 18th annual Coastal Dance Festival, bringing together Indigenous artists to share and support one another in a celebration of lived artistic practices. It was a celebration of community, culture, and spiritual connection with the lands upon which we stand. Upon entering UBC’s Museum of Anthropology, one could tell that this festival extended far beyond entertainment. The performance space was surrounded by towering totem poles, strikingly lit to emphasize every little carving in the cedar. At the two evening performances on Mar. 4 and 5, three separate dance groups took the stage. Each one was…

New Release: Triptych – A compelling bridge between jazz and classical music

By Newswire on 7 March 2025 Arts Industry, Classical Music, Jazz, Newswire, Piano, Vancouver, West

Duo Fedorova & Takser, piano duo The work was composed by Nikolai Kapustin in 2012 and published by Schott this year (2024). This recording is the first official release. Kapustin was a well-known insider tip as a composer of notated jazz music that sounds improvised when performed correctly. 2025 marks the fifth anniversary of Kapustin’s death, who would have turned 88. Even five years after the death of the ingenious composer Nikolai Kapustin, his music, as an artist who bridged musical worlds, is unfortunately still an insider tip. How fortunate that musicians like the renowned Vancouver based piano duo Fedorova…

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and conductor Daniel Raiskin.

Review | Alexei Volodin’s Astonishing Rachmaninoff with the VSO

By Madeline Boldt on 25 February 2025 Classical Music, Concert Reviews, Orchestral, Piano, Vancouver, West

Astonished. That is the word that comes to mind when watching pianist Alexei Volodin work his magic. I could go on and on about the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra—they never fail to leave me breathless—but Volodin added a level of majesty that elevated the performance from breathtaking to exquisite. The Russian pianist joined the VSO for a series of concerts (heard Feb. 22) that included Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Volodin is described as “acclaimed for his highly sensitive touch and technical brilliance”. His repertoire is almost as extensive as his resume, having performed with countless orchestras internationally, from the Hiroshima…

Vancouver Opera’s 2025 production of Flight. Photo: David Cooper Photography

Review | Vancouver Opera’s Flight: Laugh Until You Cry

By Kaitlyn Chan on 12 February 2025 Concert Reviews, Opera, Vancouver, Vocal, West

On Feb. 8, Vancouver Opera presented the local premiere of Jonathan Dove’s 1998 opera, Flight. This opera—inspired by the true story of an Iranian refugee stranded in Paris’ Charles de Gaulle Airport for 18 years—is an emotional rollercoaster ride from the comedic to the heart-wrenching. The production originated at Pacific Opera Victoria in early 2020, just before the pandemic shut down. Stage direction was entrusted there to veteran Canadian theatre legend Morris Panych who has revived his retro-1960s vision for Vancouver Opera. At the start of the opera, Ken MacDonald’s set design looked quite simple with a tall control tower…

Vancouver Opera Announces 2025-2026 Season

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

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…

Gwen Hoebig: Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s concertmaster extraordinaire

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

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…

Previous 1 … 3 4 5 6 7 8 Next

Current Issue

PDF HTML

Next Issue : September

Ad Deadline : Aug. 21, 2026

Past Issues, Subscriptions, Advertising