Arts & Culture

On June 4th and 5th the Manitobans for the Arts will be holding their Annual General Gathering. Called New Voices-Fresh Thinking, the event will feature two days of learning and conversation on how artists can engage, sustain and strengthen the arts sector. 

This gathering will feature a keynote address by renowned, award –winning cultural strategist Patricia Huntsman. Huntsman has worked across Canada and internationally in senior roles in the creative industry for 25 years. 

Starting this Saturday, June 1 and going until September 8th, the Wag-Qaumajuq is presenting a fabulous new exhibit, that showcases the work of one of the most historical and influential painters in Canadian History.

Bust out your tie-dye, put a flower in your hair and boogie on down to Lutheran Church of the Cross to get groovin’ with the Winnipeg Pops Orchestra and their very special guests – the Very Groovy Things!  

Performing hits of the Mamas and the Papas, plus other tunes from the 60’s, 70’s and beyond, this collaboration marks the first orchestral gig for the Very Groovy Things (VGT). 

A weeklong celebration of sound, songs and stories is set to take place as the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival runs from June 2nd through 8th.  

“Sounds in the Key of Spring” is this year’s theme and will treat audiences to more than a dozen recitals, concerts and events, featuring some of the most brilliant contemporary musicians performing today.  

“In the end, love of music is what sustains the arts,” says artistic director Paul Marleyn on the festival’s long history.  

Vienna-based, Canadian-born Sarah McElravy is an internationally renowned string player. 

Equally adept on violin and viola, she is a career chamber musician, recitalist and pedagogue who has performed as soloist with major orchestras across the globe – the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic and more. 

In her provincial debut, McElravy returns to Canadian turf to close out the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra’s 2023/24 season. 

A Steinbach Christian School student represented Manitoba last weekend at MusicFest 2024 Canada in Toronto.  

Benjamin Hiebert from Blumenort is in Grade 11 at SCS, and has been singing since he was eight years old. His mother Dana says he was looking for a way to challenge himself and so he auditioned for the national choir competition.  

Fresh off a performance with Manitoba Underground Opera, tenor Kyle Briscoe presents a solo recital, “Requiescat, Rebirth” at Young United Church.  

A familiar voice in town, Briscoe has performed as a soloist with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and Little Opera Company and was regularly heard singing in several lauded choral ensembles.  Last year, however, the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music grad relocated to Montreal to begin his master's studies in vocal performance.  

Tune in at 1 p.m. all this week as we celebrate the 127th birthday of Erich Wolfgang Korngold.

Known for his film scores such as Robin Hood, Captain Blood, the Sea Hawk, and Juarez, Korngold composed 21 film scores for Hollywood. His use of leitmotifs, his mastery of orchestration and his ability to effectively add to the emotions portrayed on screen made Korngold one of the most influential composers in Hollywood.

Recently the extraordinary 52 voice PaTram Institute Male Choir released their recording of Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil.