Arts & Culture

On Thursday, September 26 and Sunday September 29, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra will be joined by renowned Canadian pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin in a performance of Chopin’s beautifully expressive and virtuosic piano concerto no 2. Also, on the program, the WSO will be performing Sibelius’ single movement Symphony no 7. 

Canadian pianist Jaeden Izik-Dzurko has won the Leeds International Piano Competition 2024, a prestigious event held from September 11 to 21 in Bradford, England.

This weekend, the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra presents the thrilling fifth episode in the Star Wars saga: The Empire Strikes Back – in concert!  

Returning to the WSO is former associate conductor Julian Pellicano, who makes his way back to Winnipeg from a galaxy far, far away... Toronto.  

“It feels unusual to be a guest,” says Pellicano. “It definitely feels strange. I have to say after, you know, a few 100 concerts over the past decade.”  

An award-winning Mezzo-Soprano vocalist from northern Manitoba was recently asked to perform at Carnegie Hall and she's bringing some special guests with her. 

Rhonda Head, who has won 41 awards, performed with the Flin Flon choir at Carnegie Hall last year. The Maestro loved it so much, that he asked her to return.  This time she is bringing four youths from the Arts for Manitoba Indigenous Youth Choir.

"One of my goals was to get them to go and perform on stage in Carnegie Hall, but I didn't think it would happen so fast," said Head.

Before closing the book on a literary-inspired season, Manitoba Underground Opera has one more tale to tell... or, more precisely, a few of them.  

A gender-bending, English adaptation of Jacques Offenbach’s The Tales of Hoffman opens this week at the iconic Club 200.  

“The last show of the season is generally something that I can just have a bit of a wild card time with,” says MUO Executive Director Brendan McKeen. 

Tune in every day at 1:00 this week as we feature the delightful and charming wind concertos of Severio Mercadante, in honor of his 229th birthday.   

Saverio Mercadante was born in Altamura in 1795 and was a pupil at the Naples Conservatory between 1808 and 1819. There he studied violin, cello, bassoon, clarinet and flute, and composition. His composition teachers included Giovanni Furno, Giacomo Tritto and Nicola Zingarelli. 

The adored quintet Canadian Brass have added another Canadian back onto their roster: Winnipegger Keith Dyrda.  

“I'm so excited,” says Dyrda. "It's obviously a massive honour to be included in this ensemble and to be able to do it twice in my life feels really, really special.” 

His previous stint came between 2010 and 2011, when Dyrda was a 21-year-old student completing his undergraduate degree at Montreal’s McGill University.  

On Sunday, September 22nd at 2;30pm at Young United Church, The Royal Canadian College of Organists, Winnipeg Chapter will be presenting a remarkable concert that features Canadian music written for piano and organ duo. 

Musical Sustenance: GroundSwell opens 2024-25 season with new works for violin 

This Sunday, September 15th at 7:30pm at St. Andrews River Heights United Church, Winnipeg’s GroundSwell is kicking off their 2024-25 season with a concert called Sustenance. 

When he's not teaching high school students science, Mennonite Brethren Collegiate Institute's Andrew S. Hiebert can be found making art, some of which is on display right now to view free of charge in St. Boniface. 

Hiebert says that his love for art started when he was young, and became a therapy as he got older. "When I was in church, I would be drawing pictures of tractors. I was the school cartoonist and my dream was to become an artist."