StarPhoenix article with Margaret Wilson (Née Bluhm) Our beloved principal clarinet Margaret Wilson is retiring after 47 seasons with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra. We are fairly certain that Margaret is the longest-serving principal clarinet of any organization in Canada. She’s also close to having been the longest-serving principal clarinet in North America beaten out only by Stanley Drucker of the New York Philharmonic whose 49 years made the Guinness Book of World Records. Needless to say, Margaret has given an incredible amount of her time and talents to the SSO and her retirement is w ..read more

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Hailing from the sunshine capital of Canada, Estevan, Saskatchewan, soprano Avery Lafrentz is currently working to make her mark in the bustling opera scene of London, England.  A globetrotter in pursuit of her passion, Avery’s voice has graced stages in Italy, Austria, England & the United States in both opera and concert engagements. Whether embodying the fiery spirit of Vitellia ‘Clemenza di Tito’ or tugging at heartstrings as Anna Maurrant ‘Street Scene’ and Suor Angelica in ‘Suor Angelica’, Avery’s performances exude boundless potential.  Not content with just scaling operat ..read more

Mezzo-soprano Julie Nesrallah is a singer, actress and broadcaster who dazzles audiences with her engaging personality and her rich, expressive voice. Miss Nesrallah has sung for leading opera companies, symphonies, festivals and chamber music ensembles across Canada and the U.S. and around the world. Julie débuted as Isabella in Rossini’s L’italiana in Algeri at Pacific Opera Victoria and went on to perform major roles including The Composer in Strauss’s Ariadne auf Naxos, Suzuki in Puccini’s Madama Butterfly, Cenerentola in Rossini’s La Cenerentola,&nb ..read more

Canadian tenor Ian Cleary began his musical studies while growing up in Chatham, Ontario, and is a Graduate of Wilfrid Laurier University where he studied with Kimberly Barber. Ian received an Opera Diploma from the University of British Columbia under the vocal instruction of J. Patrick Raftery and sang principal roles in several UBC Opera productions, including Kevin Puts’ Silent Night, Mieczysław Weinberg’s The Passenger, and Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte. Ian sang the role of Hoffmann in their production of Offenbach’s Les contes d’Hoffmann. While a member of Vancouver Opera’s Yulanda M. Faris ..read more

American bass Adam Lau, praised as “a bass whose singing resonates in every sense of the word”, continues a busy and varied career in opera and concert with a wide range of engagements in the 2023-24 season. He began the summer of 2023 in concerts with the Metropolitan Opera, both at Carnegie Hall and on the company’s European tour, conducted by the Met’s Music Director, Yannick Nezet-Seguin. He next appeared as Sarastro in The Magic Flute at The Ravinia Festival, led by Marin Alsop. In Autumn 2023, Mr. Lau rejoined San Francisco Opera, where he covered the role of Kobun in The (R)evolution of ..read more

Eekwol (Lindsay Knight) is an award-winning hip hop performing artist living in Saskatoon, Treaty Six Territory, originally from Muskoday First Nation. Eekwol has been making music for many years.  Her 5th full-length album titled, Good Kill was released in 2017 and the single,”Pitiful feat. 2oolman” made it to the #1 spot on the National Aboriginal Music Countdown and charted in Sirius Radio and numerous college and community stations and streaming site playlists. For 2019, she successfully received a Canada Council grant and completed a concept project with fellow lyricist, T-Rhyme tit ..read more

About Falynn Baptiste My mother says I came into the world a songbird, humming and singing to myself when I was a little girl. My late nôkum (grandmother) and nôhtawiy (father) were gifted with song, thus music has always been a part of my life. I was blessed to have been raised on Red Pheasant First Nation among a very large family, rooted in my nêhiyaw culture, traditions and language. I am also proud to be Mêtis and come from an equally large family with strong roots from Cumberland House, SK. My late mosom’s (grandfathers), nokum’s (grandmothers), my parents and ..read more

With over 20 years of multi-genre vocal training, Elyse has moved from Toronto to her wonderful hometown of Saskatoon, bringing her wealth of vocal knowledge and life experience with her. After 6 years managing one of the top vocal training studios in Toronto, Big Voice Studios, Elyse is thrilled to have her own vocal studio here in the city where it all began! After years of performing on stage in Musicals, Cover Bands, Voice Over and Film/TV all over Toronto, Elyse has coached a variety of artists in multiple genres. These include; singer/songwriters, pop, ind ..read more

Kateryna Khartova is a Canadian-Ukrainian soprano. She is a recent graduate of the Glenn Gould School of Music in Toronto where she received her Artist Diploma. Katya is also a proud alumna of the Music Department at the University of Saskatchewan. During her undergraduate studies Miss Khartova was a featured as a soloist in the University’s Music Theatre Ensemble under the directory of Dr. Garry Gable and Kathleen Lohrenz Gable.  Kateryna has won several Saskatchewan Music Festival competitions, including grand awards—Wallis Memorial Silver (2014), and Wallis Memorial Bronze (2015). Kat ..read more