Montreal, April 15, 2024 – The Orchestre classique de Montréal (OCM) presents Mozart’s celebrated Requiem, conducted by Jacques Lacombe, with 150 Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal (PCMR) and four wonderful soloists from the Atelier Lyrique of the Opéra de Montréal. The concert will be presented at the Maison Symphonique on Sunday, May 5 at 3:00 p.m. Les Petits Chanteurs du Mont-Royal present a... Source ..read more

All is Love, which Opera Atelier opened on April 11 at Toronto’s Koerner Hall, is a heady pastiche of art song, opera and dance. It offers styles ranging from formal Baroque opera seria to hothouse belle époque French mélodies right through newly-composed and choreographed music and dance. Throw in a lot of the Baroque dance choreography for which the company is famous, and the result is a... Source ..read more

Toronto, ON – April 12, 2023 – In a landmark moment during their golden jubilee celebrations, the Amadeus Choir of Greater Toronto proudly designates Lydia Adams as Conductor Emerita, recognizing her exceptional contributions to the choir’s legacy. Adams, who assumed leadership in 1984, played an instrumental role in transforming the choir into an internationally acclaimed ensemble over her... Source ..read more

I was never a fan of viola jokes. Just because the instrument is neither one thing nor the other doesn’t make it any funnier than a mezzo-soprano or a bass-baritone. It is what it is, with benefits. The viola spares you squeaky irritations of a violin and lugubrious growls of a mishandled cello. I like the viola. There, I’ve said it. What’s special about this release is the eclectic menu assembled... Source ..read more

It is not often that a classical concert audience is filled with young, dancing and singing along without restraint and shushing from their adult companions. OSMose, performed by the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, encouraged this very behaviour. This year’s edition at the Maison Symphonique featured a program of excerpts from 13 well-known pieces, most notably Edvard Grieg’s ‘Morning Mood’... Source ..read more

Brandon, Manitoba – The 47th Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition 2024 in Strings: Violin, Viola and Cello, taking place at Brandon University School of Music from May 10-12, 2024, announces that the five selected final string players are: Danielle Greene (violin, NL), Juliana Moroz (cello, MB), Astrid Nakamura (violin, ON), Justin Saulnier (violin, ON) and Tiffany Yeung (violin, ON). Source ..read more

Emily Carr String Quartet: Müge Büyükçelen and Cory Balzer, violins; Mieka Michaux, viola; Alasdair Monet, cello; Marion Newman, mezzo-soprano. Leaf Music 2024 Much like Quebec’s Quatuor Molinari, the Emily Carr String Quartet specializes in contemporary musical repertoire and has chosen to adopt the name of a local painter. Originally from Victoria, British Columbia, the ensemble paid tribute to... Source ..read more

Italian pianist, Maurizio Baglini, will make his Montreal debut with a recital at the Société Pro Musica on Sunday, May 12, 2024. “It’s the first time that I will play in Canada, I see this as an important debut,” underlines the artist, who won the Monte Carlo Piano Masters at the age of 24, and has since seen a rich international career. Baglini will present an unusual program... Source ..read more

To lovers of new music, Esprit Orchestra needs no introduction. Founded in 1983 by conductor Alex Pauk, the orchestra has been at the forefront of presenting existing contemporary classical music repertoire, as well as the commissioning of new works by Canadian composers. Thanks to this 65-member professional orchestra, Toronto music lovers get to discover, and experience works rarely presented by... Source ..read more

In the Shadows Michael Spyres, baritenor; Les Talens lyriques; Christophe Rousset, conductor Erato, 2024 The concept behind Michael Spyres’s new album, In the Shadows, is an original one—as is the order of the selected repertoire. It focuses on Wagner’s early works (Die Feen, Rienzi, Lohengrin), but not before first exploring the musical landscape that predated the composer, and which... Source ..read more