Famous Inspirations and
Christmas with Buzz Brass

Since 2002, Buzz Brass quintet has been travelling all over the globe to captivate classical music lovers. Whether its concerts consist of brass quintet alone or together with guest musicians, the original artistic propositions it presents leave nobody cold. With over 1,600 appearances to its credit, the ensemble has reached more than 350,000 music lovers throughout North America, Europe and China. The numerous awards and distinctions that Buzz Brass has earned over the years (Opus, ADISQ, and Trille Or) attest to both the quality and the relevance of its musical performances. Thanks to numerous innovative programmes, praiseworthy recordings, a unique repertoire and a vision of classical concerts that reaches out to a wide audience, the group now features among the most reputable brass quintets in Canada.

Christopher Hall is the former principal clarinet of the Orchestre Métropolitain in Montréal (Yannick Nézet-Seguin) who found work in the orchestra far too serious! So now, instead of joking around while sitting in the orchestra, he performs as a stand up comedian, and does various television and radio shows in both English and French. He has performed his acclaimed concert "Comic Orchestra" throughout Canada, the US, and Germany alongside some of the best symphony orchestras. Christopher is fluent in English, French, German and Italian. But whatever you do, DO NOT take this man seriously!

Concert pianist Janina Fialkowska has enchanted audiences and critics around the world. She has been praised for her musical integrity, her refreshing natural approach and her unique piano sound thus becoming "one of the Grandes Dames of piano playing" (Frankfurter Allgemeine, 2015). Her career was launched in 1974, when the legendary Arthur Rubinstein became her mentor after her prize-winning performance at his inaugural Master Piano Competition, calling her a "born Chopin interpreter" laying the foundation for her lifelong identification with this composer. A new recording of French piano music has been released on the ATMA Classique label on October 2019. For her 70th anniversary season, she will be on the road for a North American tour.

The award winning and highly acclaimed band Le Vent du Nord is a leading force in Quebec's progressive francophone folk movement. The group's vast repertoire draws from both traditional sources and original compositions, while enhancing it's hard-driving soulful music (rooted in the Celtic diaspora) with a broad range of global influences.

MG3 plays Ennio Morricone, Winter's Threshold (Christmas Concert) and Horizons

Described by the CBC as the "hottest" guitar ensemble in Canada, MG3 has quickly established itself as a force to be reckoned with, as well as an interactive force in various musical forms. For over 18 years, the trio's virtuosity, rigour, creativity and impressive stage presence — where humour and interacting with the public go hand in hand — have been winning over audiences around the world. The trio, composed of guitarists Marc Morin, Glenn Lévesque and Sébastien Dufour, has given hundreds of concerts in some of the most prestigious venues across North America, Europe, New Zealand and Australia. In January 2017, the trio launches its 7th album Danzas at the Théâtre Outremont in Montréal, which pays tribute to the great composers of Spanish music, including Paco de Lucia and Manuel de Falla. MG3 is currently preparing its new show MG3 plays Maestro Morricone, a special tribute to this legendary Italian composer. They also feature their brand new Christmas concert Winter's Threshold as well as a more intimate program entitled Horizons, showcasing six cinematographic works by Glenn Lévesque and Sébastien Dufour.

Award-winning jazz singer, songwriter and recording artist Ori Dagan is taking jazz to new and exciting places. His rich baritone voice and impressive abilities as an improviser produce an instantly recognizable sound. In live performance, he surrounds himself with Canada's finest musicians, performing an engaging mix of material which is always fresh and in the moment. Dagan's third recording, Nathaniel: A Tribute to Nat King Cole (2017 Winner: Silver Medal for "Best Album" at the Global Music Awards, Top 50 on the U.S. JazzWeek charts) features guest appearances by 91-year-old jazz legend Sheila Jordan, 3-time Grammy nominee Jane Bunnett and "Canada's Sweetheart of Swing" Alex Pangman. His new CD will be released in fall 2021.

The Saguenay Quartet is celebrating its 30th this year! Composed of violinists Marie Bégin and Nathalie Camus, violist Luc Beauchemin, and cellist David Ellis, has developed a reputation for excellence throughout Canada and internationally. The quartet's originality, contagious enthusiasm, unique sonority, and remarkable cohesion have all contributed to its long-term success, both on stage and in recording. The four instrumentalists are also the first chairs of their respective sections of l'Orchestre symphonique du Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean. A first recording with the violinist Marie Bégin will be released in spring 2021.

Chopin and romantic composers

Five years ago, Charles Richard-Hamelin received the Silver Medal at the International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw and the Krystian Zimerman Prize for best performance of a sonata. Charles Richard-Hamelin stands out on the international music scene as a pianist driven by "a great depth of feeling without the slightest condescension" (Le Devoir). He is recognized as "fluent, multifaceted and tonally seductive… a technician of exceptional elegance and sophistication" (BBC Music Magazine). Charles Richard-Hamelin has recorded seven albums to this day, all published on the Analekta label. His upcoming album, to be released in April 2021, is devoted to Chopin's 24 Preludes.

Dominique Fils-Aimé is a Polaris Music and JUNO prize-nominated singer-songwriter from Montreal whose inspiration is drawn from soul icons of the 40's and the 60's such as Billie Holiday, Etta James and Nina Simone. Fils-Aimé was chosen as Radio-Canada's Jazz Revelation of 2019-2020. Her sophomore record Stay Tuned! won the 2020 JUNO Award for "Vocal Jazz Album of the Year" as well as the Félix prize for "Best Jazz Album" at the ADISQ Gala, was shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, and was featured among the 19 best Canadian albums of 2019 according to CBC. The final album of her trilogy Three Little Words has just been released in february 2021.

Jazz Affair has now been around for ten years, making their way as one of the rare Canadian a cappella groups working in jazz. This sextet combines six unique voices that unite into a dynamic and colourful whole: Luce Bélanger (soprano) Marie-Pier Deschênes (mezzo-soprano), Camille Legault Coulombe (alto), Jean-François Aubin (tenor), Louis Laprise (baryton) and Christian B. Poulin (bass). Their repertoire is composed of jazz standards and original arrangements of famous songs, to which they add a jazz flavour.

Canzone di Notte… The Songs of the Night with her friend Valérie Milot (harp)

Soprano coloratura, Marianne Lambert is the recipient of the Opus Award for Concert of the Year — Regions (2018), the An die Musik Recital Award at the 25th Clermont-Ferrand International Singing Competition (2017, France), as well as the Grand Prix for the 20th Concours international de chant de Marmande (2008, France). A diamond voice with shimmering colours, Marianne Lambert displays a stunning stage presence. The intelligence behind her acting is equaled only by her impressive vocal control.

The Montreal Guitar Trio and the California Guitar Trio have united to form a double electrifying ensemble: MG3 & CGT! The musical association between MG3 and CGT dates back to 2009. Since then, the two trios have been touring the roads of the United States and Canada each year to offer an outstanding guitar concert. Indeed, these six exceptional guitarists offer a tornado of varied musical styles, a joyful musical tsunami! In addition to their respective great classics, which they will perform in the first half of the concert, they will also be performing their own compositions, created especially for the occasion, as well as pop music favourites. In May 2019, MG3 and CGT launched their 2nd opus In a Landscape at One World Theater in Austin, Texas. This album crowned ten years of musical collaboration between the two trios.

Classics with a Jazzy Touch! Piano Cameleons is the meeting of two virtuosos, Matt Herskowitz and John Roney, who take a fresh look at well-known masterpieces from the classical repertoire – Bach, Debussy, Chopin, Schumann, Beethoven, etc. – and enrich them with improvisations worthy of the best jazz pianists.

Between Worlds

Captivating audiences and critics alike, the "brilliant" (The Times, UK) and "truly exhilarating" (The WholeNote, Canada) Cheng² Duo (pronounced Cheng Squared Duo) distinguishes itself with its uncompromising musical integrity, undeniable chemistry, and unparalleled communication with its listeners. The Chinese-Canadian brother-and-sister duo is formed by 23-year-old cellist Bryan Cheng, Grand Prize Winner of the 2019 Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and 2020 Bader & Overton Competitions, playing the Canada Council for the Arts' prized ca. 1696 "Bonjour" Stradivari; and pianist Silvie Cheng, recipient of the Roy M. Rubinstein Award for exceptional promise in piano performance.

A Cello in Italy

Elinor Frey is a leading Canadian-American cellist and researcher who specializes in early music and new music. Her acclaimed CDs on the Belgian label Passacaille – most of which are world premiere recordings – include La voce del violoncello (2013), Berlin Sonatas (2015) with Lorenzo Ghielmi on fortepiano, Fiorè (2017), which features soprano Suzie LeBlanc, and Giuseppe Clemente Dall'Abaco: Cello Sonatas (2020) which received a Diapason d'Or. She has just released Antonio Vandini: Complete Works, a project in collaboration with Marc Vanscheeuwijck. Her critical edition of Dall'Abaco Sonatas is published in collaboration with Walhall Editions. Frey's album of new works for Baroque cello, titled Guided By Voices, was released on the Analekta label in 2019. In recent seasons she has performed throughout N. America and Europe, as well as with her quartet, Pallade Musica. Frey holds degrees from McGill, Mannes, and Juilliard. She teaches early cello at the University of Montréal, lectures at McGill University, and is a Visiting Fellow in Music at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford University.

A very unique concept, KUNÉ brings together on stage the crème de la crème of Canada's established musicians from diverse backgrounds. KUNÉ brings together eleven artists who exchange and merge their different cultures in their work, contributing to create a distinctive sound. Through its combined cultural identities, KUNÉ's Échos universels show offers a new and original musical language. KUNÉ's musicians come from the four corners of the world - from Peru, Burkina Faso, Cuba, Ukraine and elsewhere - and are based in the Toronto area.

Here is the recipe for Mélisande [électrotrad]'s award-winning cocktail: pour equal parts of centuries-old traditional Québécois songs, state of the art electronic instruments and relentless drums, add an ounce of fiery fiddle, peaty flute and hypnotic jaw harp, a dash of tangy banjo and a hint of full-bodied bass. Shake vigorously, garnish with a sparkling singer and serve on stage!

Founded in 2012 by its conductor Nicolas Ellis, L'Orchestre de l'Agora highlights the ardour and audacity of young and talented up-and-coming classical musicians. Rich and varied, the programme of this concert includes works by great composers from different periods such as Tchaikovsky, Grieg, Stravinsky and Bartok. These works highlight each of the instrumental sections in turn through solos. The 15 musicians are led by their artistic director Nicolas Ellis, named CLASSIC REVELATION Radio-Canada 2018. Nicolas was recently nominated "Artistic Contributor" of Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Orchestre Métropolitain. For its 2019-20 season, the public had the opportunity to discover this unique and fine ensemble in more than twenty cities across Quebec. The ensemble is currently preparing its first recording to be released on the ATMA Classique label with altist Marina Thibeault.

BC Option: Quintet

A Jazzy Christmas

Playing that is both intense and under control, breathtaking precision, magnetic stage presence, refreshing original compositions: that's the formidable package offered by Rémi Bolduc, one of Canada's best jazz saxophonists. Acclaimed at the most important venues from New York to Paris by way of Geneva, Tokyo and Beijing, Rémi Bolduc captivates the audience with the dazzling virtuosity and stunning maturity that have made him a most accomplished musician.

Bromance is a show with relationships at its heart, where handshakes become handstands and backslaps become backflips. Audacious, touching exhilarating, and with a great soundtrack, this is a tour-de-force of cutting edge physical heroics, wittily exploring male companionship and its limits. Barely Methodical Troupe is an experimental acrobatic circus company. Fusing Hand-to-Hand and Cyr wheel with parkour, b-boying, tricking and contemporary dance giving a fresh perspective on the material they create. BMT's first show Bromance won the Total Theatre & Jacksons Lane Award for Circus at the Edinburgh Festival in 2014, opened the London International Mime Festival in 2015 and has been presented at Montréal Complètement Cirque in 2016. It has toured nationally and internationally ever since. A cross-Canada tour is planned for March-April 2022.

Jamie Adkins is a performer in the vaudeville tradition of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. With no hi-tech distractions, his irresistible character heroically battles with the everyday objects of life, permanently on the verge of disaster… moving but hilarious. He treats the audience as a partner and as a result, the show is fresh and keeps everyone enthralled and on the edge of their seats. More than 1000 of performances in 23 countries and everywhere he goes, the public, adults and children alike, laugh out loud at the humour and marvel at the multi-talented performance of Jamie in Circus Incognitus.

The Baccalà characters take to the empty stage in a timeless performance of enthralling physicality and exquisite humour. Pss Pss is an extraordinary physical performance blending contemporary clown with theatre and circus. Inventive and exciting, this poetic and breathtaking fumble through mishaps, acrobatics, and life, will have you laughing long after you leave the theatre. Simone Fassari (him) and Camilla Pessi (her) play out their hilarious and unique pas de deux through the universal language of gestures and glances, without a single word being spoken. Brilliant, tender, hilarious and ingenious.

Victor Quijada and RUBBERBAND Group have not only redefined breakdance codes within an institutional context and enlivened the Quebec dance scene, but have opened the way for new creators fascinated by this dance form. Trenzado marks the return of Victor Quijada to the stage as a dancer. In a poetic way, the work raises the question of what it is to be from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. In Trenzado, American citizen of Mexican heritage and Canadian choreographer Victor Quijada revisits a certain nostalgia in order to push his creative language further. Built upon the themes of roots, boundaries, homeland and loss, the piece explores our physical and emotional limits when we face removal from home, lost connections, and reconstruction. It also addresses the hopes that come with starting new.

5 dancers
Duration: 60 minutes

Bouge de là has adopted a creative means of introducing young audiences to the world of choreography, thus making dance accessible to children. With a contemporary approach that blends together various art forms, the company presents dance performances that are playful and topical. An ode to the power of imagination, Through My Eyes stimulates the child's senses and brings us back to one of the loveliest things about childhood: a tireless capacity for wonder.

Family audience / 3 years and up
School audience: preschool to grade 2
Duration: 40 minutes

Victor Quijada and RUBBERBAND Group have not only redefined breakdance codes within an institutional context and enlivened the Quebec dance scene, but have opened the way for new creators fascinated by this dance form. Ever So Slightly explores the behavioural mechanisms and reflexes we develop against the ceaseless flow of irritants that bombard us in our daily lives. Most of us long for calm and resilience, but how do we get to a zone where noise and aggressivity no longer have a place? Simultaneously delivering delicacy, brutality, finesse, and high-voltage action, the choreographer conveys all the energy contained in urgency, revolt, chaos, and flight.

10 dancers
Duration: 70 minutes

Bouge de là has adopted a creative means of introducing young audiences to the world of choreography, thus making dance accessible to children. With a contemporary approach that blends together various art forms, the company presents dance performances that are playful and topical. An interactive, multidisciplinary alphabet primer, The 26 Letter Dance is a journey into the world of letters and words. Physically and intellectually engaged in the piece, the young spectator is an active participant in this kaleidoscope rich in colours and textured dance. The 26 Letter Dance is a very contemporary and poetic piece that expands the frontiers of performance for young audiences and turns the conventions of theatre inside out.

For ages 4-10 and Family
Duration: 60 minutes

Victor Quijada and RUBBERBAND Group have not only redefined breakdance codes within an institutional context and enlivened the Quebec dance scene, but have opened the way for new creators fascinated by this dance form. Vic's Mix plunges into choreographer Victor Quijada's blazing trail of creativity to extract illuminating breakthroughs in his experiments. Theatricality and eclecticism are what will guide spectators through this sometimes humorous, sometimes serious whirlwind, in which each tableau expresses the essence of the RUBBERBAND Method. A reflection of the freedom and openness of the ebullient Montréal dance scene in the last fifteen years, Vic's Mix is sure to surprise by the stylistic breadth of its various segments.

7 dancers
Duration: 75 minutes