Made in Manitoba

Since 1991 the Virtuosi Concert Series has been delighting audiences with world class chamber music, performed by some of the best musicians on the scene.

The natural environment has been something that has been AN inspiration for composers for hundreds of years. Whether it be Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, Strauss’s Alpine Symphony, or Beethoven’s Pastoral symphony; nature has inspired many masterworks throughout the centuries.

Today with climate change and global warming being  at the forefront of our minds, twentieth and twenty-first century composers have also been inspired to compose works not only inspired by nature, but also works that hopefully make a statement about what man is doing to the planet.

On September 21st and September 22nd, Manitoba will have a taste of the French city of Marseille. Winnipeg’s foremost new music organization GroundSwell, will welcome to the Province Ensemble Télémaque the acclaimed ensemble from Marseille, France. They will be performing at 7:30pm on Wednesday, September 21st at Theatre Circle Moliere here in Winnipeg and at 7:30pm Thursday, September 22nd at Brandon University’s Lorne Watson Recital Hall.

A Winnipeg science teacher is hoping "to provide people with the hope that even though we are in a liminal time of no-longer-this & not-yet-that, nevertheless peace can still reign in our hearts." And, he's doing it through art.

Andrew Hiebert is a senior physics & chemistry teacher at MBCI in Winnipeg, teaching chemistry and physics, as well as a professional artist. For Hiebert, science draws him closer to God and understanding God.

On Wednesday, August 17th, 2022, the Rosamunde Summer String Academy and Festival started. Students from around the country and around the world have amassed at Winnipeg’s Canadian Mennonite University (CMU), to study and learn from some of Canadas’s foremost string players.

This Sunday, August 14th at 2:00pm, Jazz Winnipeg, in partnership with the Dalnavert Museum, will be presenting “A Jazz Winnipeg Garden Party” that will feature The Andrew Littleford Quintet.

Set in Winkler, Man. an upcoming sitcom called Maria and the Mennos is looking for their all-Manitoban cast and crew to play an interesting set of characters.

"It's about a Filipino Canadian woman who moves in with her Mennonite in-laws," says Paul Plett, one of the Mennonite creators of the show. "It's a super Manitoba story. I'm Mennonite and I've always wanted to do something more in the Mennonite space here in Manitoba. I'm also a filmmaker here in Winnipeg and I collaborate with a lot of Filipino-Canadians."

A musical collaboration with Fresh IE at the helm is finally coming to fruition for one local Christian artist. 

Jessica Stanley is from Stonewall, Manitoba, and is a wife and mom. She is also releasing her first music project, the album Love Sheds on Friday, July 15. 

Local singer and music teacher Heidi Korte recently released a music video to honour Ukrainian culture while also hoping to bring light to their current dark situation. 

"Most people know I teach young singer/songwriters over Zoom and in-person in Winnipeg," says Korte. "When the war in Ukraine started I challenged my students to pick a song about world peace because we can use our voices to bless. Even in the Bible, musicians went first. I think there are situations where music can heal."