Arts & Culture

For over three weeks, an unprovoked and brutal war has besieged the Ukrainian people. Millions have fled their homes, thousands have been injured and hundreds have died, though the true number of casualties is likely far higher. 

On Sunday, Virtuosi Concerts returns with their first concert of the new year: Serpentine Paths. 

From a basement shelter in the besieged city of Kyiv, violinist Illia Bondarenko plays a haunting melody between explosions. 

As the video expands, he’s joined by nearly 100 violinists from more than 2 dozen countries united by their love of music and shared instrument.

In an Instagram post, violinist Kerenza Peacock explains: “I befriended some young violinists in Ukraine via Instagram and discovered some were in basement shelters but had their violins. So I asked colleagues across the world to accompany them in harmony.”

Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute (MBCI) hosted their first concert with people in the audience yesterday since 2020. 

Andrew Klassen teaches concert band and jazz band at MBCI.

"We're very excited," says Klassen. "Our jazz bands and vocal jazz ensembles did a concert called An Evening of Jazz at MBCI. What's exciting is that we haven't done this concert in two years. We were in preparation to go to the Brandon Jazz Festival but it shut down."

Another teacher that was a part of yesterday's concert was the vocal teacher at MBCI, Scott Riemer. 

The eagerly anticipated return of Virtuosi Concerts live, in person, takes place this weekend. 

“Serpentine Paths” features violinist Robert Uchida and cellist Rafael Hoekman of Edmonton, with a program opening performance by Miona Milovanovic. 

As Russia’s brutal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine approaches its third week, one group of musicians took to the central square in the capital, Kyiv, to perform. 

Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) oboist Caitlin Broms-Jacobs has always been a fan of early music. 

“When I was in high school, my friends and I would skip down the street singing Renaissance madrigals in four parts,” she says. 

So when the MCO commissioned a new arrangement, Broms-Jacobs was keen to explore some of the repertoire, though reinterpret it for modern wind instruments. 

Tuesday, March 8th 2022 is International Women’s Day.

Each year, a theme accompanies the day of action and celebration. This year is all about #BreaktheBias.

The musical world, indeed does have a clear gender bias: it has been dominated by male composers and performers. 

As Janet Robbins and Maureen Blementhal have written: