Arts & Culture

The University of Manitoba has chosen the next leader of the Desautels Faculty of Music and the School of Art.  

Dr. Stephen Runge was chosen from a field of three candidates to head up both departments. Originally from Saskatchewan, Runge is currently at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick where he has been a Professor of Piano for eighteen years and has served as the Head of the Department of Music for eleven of those years.  

Starting on Monday, January 27th and going until Saturday, February 8th, the Rady Jewish Community Centre is putting an incredibly fun festival that puts a highlight on Yiddish Language and Culture. Called Put a Yid On It, this festival celebrates the humor, warmth, and character of a culture that has been slowly lost over time. 

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.