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Alain Brunet, winner of the tribute award at the 29th edition of the Prix Opus. Photo: Alain Mercier

Report | 29th Prix Opus: Composers Thankful for Performers

By Justin Bernard on 6 April 2026 Arts Industry, Canadian Music, Concert Reviews, Quebec Music, This Week in Montreal

Thirty-three winners were presented the fruits of their labour one by one—collecting single or, in some cases, multiple awards—at the 29th edition of Prix Opus held at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts Bourgie Hall on Feb. 8 Collective and individual accomplishments were celebrated, as respectively evidenced by the performer-of-the-year award going to Quatuor Quasar and Marie Nadeau-Tremblay for her album Obsession. Maxime Goulet won the coveted composer-of-the-year award and used his platform time to acknowledge performers and ensembles who commission works from composers and support their primary mission to create new music. Journalist and media outreach personality Alain Brunet…

Left: Paige Robinson (Flora) in Opera 5's The Turn of the Screw, 2024; Right: Kate Fogg in Opera 5's Elegies, 2024. Photos: Emily Ding Photography

Opera 5’s Toronto Opera Festival: A Fresh, Canadian Triptych

By Emma Yee on 3 April 2026 Canadian Music, Classical Music, Contemporary, Opera, Toronto, Vocal

Puccini’s Il trittico (The Triptych) conjures up the image of three distinct tapestries, hung side by side. In their second annual Toronto Opera Festival, Opera 5 will imbue it with a fresh, new palette of colours, invigorating Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi with established artists and young talent, while replacing the triptych’s Il tabarro with the world premiere of Cecilia Livingston’s Parḗlios. Opera 5’s 2025 festival centred on the theme of grief, featuring Rachel Krehm and Ryan Trew’s Come Closer and William Finn’s Elegies. Currently Canadian Opera Company’s company-in-residence where Come Closer will be revived in June 2027, the company…

Newswire | Festival Classica Unveils a Banner 16th Edition

By Newswire on 25 February 2026 Chamber Music, Newswire, Piano, Quebec Music, Strings, Vocal

Montérégie, (February 25, 2026) – Festival Classica invites the public to experience classical music in all its variety during its 16th edition, which will run from May 22 to June 14, 2026. The 2026 program once again showcases exceptional artists and a compelling repertoire, with the majority of events taking place on Montreal’s South Shore. Classical works, operatic performances, symphonic rock productions, and concerts for young audiences form a wide-ranging program designed to open the doors of classical music to seasoned concertgoers and newcomers alike. “Since its inception, Festival Classica has positioned itself as a space for sharing and discovery,…

Newswire | Call for Proposals for the 2028 Azrieli Music Prizes Now Open

By Newswire on 6 February 2026 Canadian Music, Music Competition, Newswire, Toronto, World Music

Toronto, ON, Canada, February 5, 2026 – The Azrieli Music, Arts and Culture Centre (AMACC) has opened its Call for Proposals for the 2028 Azrieli Music Prizes (AMP). Created in 2014 by Dr. Sharon Azrieli CQ for the Azrieli Foundation, the Azrieli Music Prizes celebrate excellence in music composition. From February 4 through May 6, 2026, composers are encouraged to submit proposals for three commissions: the Azrieli Commission for Jewish Music, the Azrieli Commission for Canadian Music, and the Azrieli Commission for International Music. The Prizes are open to composers of all nationalities, genders, faiths and backgrounds, and it is completely free to apply. “With each…

Claude Vivier, Dieter Ammann and Aziza Sadikova

Esprit Orchestra: Heat Efficiency

By Emma Yee on 2 February 2026 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Classical Music, Contemporary, Toronto

For their March 26 program, Heat Efficiency, Esprit Orchestra offers an international bill of composers, from Canadians Nicholas Ma and Claude Vivier to the Swiss Dieter Ammann and Uzbekistani Aziza Sadikova, whose work will be heard in Toronto for the first time. The concert opens with Nicholas Ma’s Memory of a Breath, his second commission with Esprit after last season’s Hijinks, which marked the composer’s first time working with a professional orchestra. According to Ma, Conductor and Artistic Director Alex Pauk encouraged him to “push [himself] further, trying out things that [he] hadn’t done before” in an effort “to provide…

Soundstreams: Offering a Way In

By Catherine Kustanczy on 2 February 2026 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Choral, Classical Music, Musical Theatre, Opera, Toronto

Soundstreams founding Artistic Director Lawrence Cherney admits the ensemble’s current season has its share of “big themes,” but he’s equally excited about the music by which they’ve been inspired. The Toronto-based company is presenting a series of ambitious spring concerts that mix big ideas and deep musicality. Soundstreams was founded in 1982 with a mandate “to strengthen public engagement with new Canadian music and music theatre/opera through commissioning, developing, producing, and disseminating that music.” Throughout its history, the organization has introduced audiences to a variety of new voices, showcasing Canadian composers and performers within innovative and often inspiring contexts. Much…

Art of Time Ensemble: The Soldier’s Tale For Today

By Justin Bernard on 2 February 2026 Canadian Music, Contemporary, Interviews, Vocal

Sankofa refers to a mythical bird prevalent in West African culture, usually portrayed with its feet pointing forward and its head leaning backwards. In the Twi language of Ghana, the word itself best translates as “to go back and retrieve what was forgotten”—a symbol that certainly appeals to Black communities reclaiming heritage and knowledge of a time when they were deemed lesser humans. Sankofa, The Soldier’s Tale Retold, the new Leaf Music release by Andrew Burashko and the Art of Time Ensemble, tells the story of a Black man who enlisted in the Canadian army during the First World War.…

Thirteen Strings. Photo: Anastasia Krachkovskaya

Thirteen Strings: 50 Years in the Community

By Kaitlyn Chan on 2 February 2026 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Classical Music, Interviews, Ottawa, Strings

Founded in 1976 by conductor Brian Law and string players from the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Thirteen Strings Chamber Orchestra celebrates 50 years of music-making this year. The 13 string players, accompanied by highly-acclaimed guests, present an innovative anniversary season, featuring new commissions and collaborations with friends of the orchestra. A proud member of the Ottawa community, Thirteen Strings keeps its local impact—and plans to build even stronger connections—the focus of its 2025-26 anniversary season. Last season, the orchestra moved to a more democratic leadership model with a committee of principal players, some board members, and Executive and Artistic Director…

Kerry-Anne Kutz, Julie Leblanc, Monique Fauteux and Catherine Léveillé of Quatuor Musaïque

Festival de la Voix: Montreal’s Celebration of the Voice

By Kaitlyn Chan on 2 February 2026 Baroque and Early, Canadian Music, Classical, Contemporary, Interviews, Montreal, Vocal, Vocal Jazz

Vox Aeterna was founded in 2008 to foster the vocal arts scene in and around Montreal, encouraging the growth of vocal concerts and educational opportunities. Four years later, the charitable organization created Festival de la Voix with these same principles in mind. The multi-week festival introduces audiences to professional vocalists from various backgrounds, cultures and musical styles. Discovering Beautiful Voices Artistic Director Kerry-Anne Kutz’s well-trained ear makes her an excellent judge of talent. “The first thing that I think about—no matter what the genre—is the beauty of the voice,” she says about programming. From established artists such as soprano Myriam…

SMCQ: 60 Years of Creation

By Guillaume De Pauw on 29 January 2026 Canadian Music, Chamber Music, Classical Music, Contemporary, Montreal, Orchestral

The second half of Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ)’s anniversary season promises to be particularly busy, with five concerts, eight premieres and numerous collaborations with leading orchestras, ensembles and soloists. On the occasion of this 60th season, SMCQ reaffirms its role as a bridge between generations of composers. Artistic Director Simon Bertrand, a 2026 Opus Awards nominee for “Artistic Director of the Year,” offers an overview of the upcoming concerts in the following text. > Intergenerational dialogue is at the heart of this second part of the season. How did you come up with this theme for the…