Arts & Culture

For Samy Moussa, the Winnipeg New Music Festival holds a special place.  

“In Canadian life, it’s a very special event. There’s no other festival like it. [It’s] probably the most important one in Canada.” 

The Winnipeg New Music Festival begins in earnest on January 21 with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra performing works by Juno Award winner Samy Moussa. On January 22, contemporary classical music fans can enjoy a free concert as part of the festival’s In the Community series at the Desautels Concert Hall at the University of Manitoba being presented by the Winnipeg Chamber Winds Collective, the University of Manitoba Percussion Ensemble and the eXperimental Improv Ensemble. 

Fifteen unique floral displays are set to wow audiences at The Leaf this month as Fleurs de Villes returns to Assiniboine Park. Local florists from Winnipeg and beyond have contributed to this year’s exhibit, titled ARTISTE, which sees them collaborate with local arts organizations to create uniquely inspired pieces honouring the vast array of creativity on display in the city. 

Nine emerging artists took the stage at the Desautels Concert Hall over the weekend for the Desautels Faculty of Music’s Zita Bernstein Lieder Competition. The annual event is one of very few competitions of its kind in North America, and a three-judge panel heard pieces by composers ranging from Robert and Clara Schumann to Gustav and Alma Mahler.  

The Winnipeg New Music Festival officially gets underway on January 21, but music fans can get a taste of what to expect on January 18 at the Carol Shields Auditorium at the Millennium Library. That’s when students from Brandon University’s School of Music, in association with Virtuosi Concerts, will be performing an outreach concert as part of the WNMF's In the Community series.  

We have just turned the corner into a new year, stepping into the early days of 2025. The start of a new year often sparks reflection and a desire for personal growth. It is a time when many of us set New Year's resolutions, aiming to make our lives more meaningful and fulfilling as we embark on this fresh chapter. 

The idea for an Indigenous theatre festival in Winnipeg first came up about four years ago. Charlene van Beukenhout fell into it almost by accident. 

“The festival was actually brought to me from a friend,” she shared with Nolan Kehler on Morning Light. “One day, she came to me and said, and we were right down to like, we're we had to submit the grant. And she said, “I think we need a festival.” 

Six actors. Nineteen months. Countless rewrites. And now, finally, eight shows of Un peu partout (Here and There) will be performed at Théâtre Cercle Molière in St. Boniface. 

It’s hard to believe that all of it started with young actors standing on chairs. 

The first thing you notice when you walk into the Plug-In Institute of Contemporary Art is that you are, in turn, being noticed.

A gigantic moon protrudes from the gallery’s western wall, overlooking a tent from which eerie sounds can be heard. The moon’s eyes seem to follow you as you move about the room, smiling at you with a vaguely unsettling air. 

“I get this question a lot,” Tommyphyll chuckles when asked about his particular style of music.  

The answer is tied to the Winnipeg artist’s bold embrace of the future while not being tied down with expectations. That artistic fearlessness will be on full display on January 16 when Tommyphyll takes the stage at the Rady JCC as part of their Music ‘n’ Mavens series.