Arts & Culture

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.

This week, young artists take the stage in Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Spotlight.  

Featuring the primas and principals of future years, the mixed repertoire program featuring both classical ballet and new works showcases the talents of the professional division students, giving audiences a chance to see their developing artistry before they make the sauté to the big stage. 

“Today’s dancer needs to be versatile to enter the job market,” says RWB School Director Stéphane Léonard. “There’s a necessity to excel in both classical and contemporary works.” 

This weekend Heritage Winnipeg is inviting Winnipeggers to explore the rich history of our city.

Words sing off the page in Manitoba Underground Opera’s 2024 ‘Unwritten’ season and it all begins with an operatic adaptation of D.H. Lawrence’s Rocking Horse Winner. 

Co-developed by Toronto-based Tapestry Opera, the English novelist’s short story was adapted by Canadian Anna Chatterton with music by Irish composer Gareth Williams.  

Starting this Thursday, May 23rd ad going until Saturday, May 25th at The Manitoba Theatre for Young People, the students of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet’s Professional Division will be putting on their annual  Spotlight performances.