Arts & Culture

This weekend, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra closes out their 2021-22 masterworks season with the final concert in the “(A)bsolute Classics” series.     

This Sunday, May 1st at 3:00pm at the Crescent Arts Centre at 525 Wardlaw Avenue, the Winnipeg Singers will be triumphantly returning to the concert stage for a concert that they are calling “ Now is the time for Maying---We Rise Again.”

Poetry magazine, one of North America's oldest and most prominent literary publications, will for the first time have a Black editor. Adrian Matejka, an educator, former state laureate of Indiana and prize-winning poet, begins his new job May 16.

“I couldn’t be more humbled or excited to be the new editor of Poetry," Matejka, 50, said in a statement. “The 19-year-old version of me, thumbing through the magazine’s pages with wonder, would have never imagined that he would one day be part of such a vital literary institution.”

The Royal Conservatory of Music (RCM) is one of the largest and most respected music education institutions in the world. Countless young musicians have worked their way through the RCM curriculum, with curated and crafted repertoire books used by music teachers across the continent. 

This Sunday, May 1st at 7:00pm at St. Andrew’s River Heights United Church, the Manitoba Registered Music Teachers’ Association (MRMTA) will be presenting a concert that they are calling “Serata.” The concert will feature some of the amazing teachers who belong to the MRMTA, with monies from the concert going towards professional developments programs, as well as providing funds to help MRMTA teachers attend future Canadian Federation of Music Teachers’ Association conferences.

In an “artistic defence” of their country, a newly-formed orchestra is set to tour Europe and the U.S. with proceeds going to the benefit of Ukrainians. 


Made up of refugees and Ukrainian members of European orchestras, the “Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra” will tour Europe and America from July 28 through August 20, including stops in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and the Netherlands, before performances in New York and Washington, DC. 

As Winnipeg cleans up after the latest Colorado low to pummel southern and central Manitoba, anticipation is high for the world premiere performance of Kevin Lau’s most recent commission. 

Following the success of their first collaboration—Writ in Water (2018) with repeat tour performances across Canada a year later—Lau was appointed Manitoba Chamber Orchestra Composer-in-Residence beginning in 2021 and Prayer in a Green Cathedral is the first resulting piece. 

A string trio mesmerized a Steinbach audience on Saturday night with a performance that was captivating and engaging.

Indigo Trio performed at the Mennonite Heritage Village as part of the Live Concert Series through the Steinbach Arts Council.

David Klassen, Director of Performing Arts, says he is noticing new creativity from artists as they create shows for live audiences.

In one of their final concerts of the season, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra presents Manitoba Remembers: A Covid Elegy.

A free musical event exploring the profound impacts of the pandemic, while also offering hope and dealing through stories, images and, of course, the power of music.