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 birthday, she released her autobiography entitled A Note in Time by Novum Publishing in London (UK). In 2022, she has also been on the road for a North American and European tour.

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 was released in spring 2022.

Two different programs:
Famous Inspirations
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.

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 has been released in February 2022.

The Great Jazz Masters
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.

Chopin and romantic composers

Six 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 nine albums to this day, all published on the Analekta label.

Three Little Words

Dominique Fils-Aimé presents Three Little Words, the final chapter of her album trilogy that delves into the legacy of African-American music. From stripped-down blues tones on her debut album to the jazz inflections of the second opus, her latest recording released in February 2021 embraces the emotional lushness of Soul music of yesterday and tomorrow.

On stage, whether in Canada, Europe or the United States, Dominique Fils-Aimé draws the listener in with her vocal swagger and radiant glow and offers the best of her successful trilogy.

Making a remarkable entrance on the music scene in 2018 with 'Nameless', Dominique Fils-Aimé's sophomore album 'Stay Tuned!' won several awards including the JUNO for Vocal Jazz Album of the Year, the Félix for Jazz Album of the Year at the ADISQ Gala (Quebec) in addition to being shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize, an honor she receives for the second time in a row for her latest album, Three Little Words.

Elinor Frey is a prominent musician who takes immense pleasure in exploring the thousand faces of her beloved instrument, the cello, as well as its distant relatives such as the viola da gamba.

An accomplished researcher and musicologist, she has also unearthed an impressive body of forgotten works, significantly enriching the repertoire of her instrument.

She devotes an important part of her career to recording and publishing on modern editions her most remarkable discoveries, many of which come from Italy, certainly one of the first countries to have introduced the cello as a soloist instrument, as it had been considered until then as an accompanist.

In her quest to perform these eclectic musics on the ideal instruments, Elinor has commissioned several from her favourite makers, including internationally renowned Quebec luthier Francis Beaulieu, who created for Elinor a five-string cello and a viola da gamba.

Alone on stage, surrounded by seven instruments, Elinor invites you to discover their distinct personalities and colors while recounting the history of each of them.

All the Mornings with Elinor is a recital that is both intimate and rich in discoveries, highlighting the beautiful chaconnes of Dall'Abaco, Bach, Colombi, Supriani, Ortiz, Telemann and Dallapiccola.

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.

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 Collaborator" of Yannick Nézet-Séguin at the Orchestre Métropolitain.

L'Orchestre de l'Agora was founded in 2013 by its conductor Nicolas Ellis. Since its foundation, this socially-oriented ensemble has donated several thousand dollars to various humanitarian organizations. The orchestra's mission is to bring together the best young professional musicians and position them as actors of social change in their community. Musicians act as teachers and mentors in the Sharing the Warmth Foundation's music program who send musicians to places where people do not have access to them. In 2022, the ensemble has released its very first album with violist Marina Thibeault on the ATMA Classique label.

Hailed as "brilliant" (The Times, UK) and "truly exhilarating" (The WholeNote, Canada), the Cheng² Duo is formed by siblings Bryan (cello) and Silvie (piano) Cheng. Having given acclaimed recitals in venues such as Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall, Dresden's Frauenkirche, Montréal's Salle Bourgie, and the UCLA Clark Library, this engaging pair of CBC Music "hot Canadian classical musicians under 30" celebrates 20 years of performing together with a program of enormous range — spanning three centuries — to match their eclectic taste and versatile artistry. Don't miss your chance to witness the spellbinding chemistry of this brother-and-sister duo!

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

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.

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 Quartet" 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!

Canzone di Notte… The Songs of the Night

The night provides its share of dreams and mysteries… Canzone di Notte gathers sumptuous arias that evoke hopes, whether enchanting or fragile, happy or disarrayed dreams.

Everything seems possible when the sky darkens and fills itself with stars. Soprano Marianne Lambert shares the stage with harpist Valérie Milot and together they present a concert of music by Rossini, Donizetti, Bellini, Sgambati, Mozart and Schubert, all of which have a nighttime theme to them and melodies that both delight and inspire reverie. The album Canzone di Notte was released in January 2022 on the FIDELIO label.

With both humorous and serious moments, Vic's Mix is a kind of "best of" spanning the immense creative territory explored by Victor Quijada, extracting jewels from the choreographer's repertoire. In a remix of his own work, orchestrating the clash between urban pop and classical composition, Quijada goes further in his experiments defying notions of theatricality and audience expectations, while making sure that each body gravitating onstage in the highly athletic segments exemplifies the RUBBERBAND Method.

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.

A dancer enters the stage and discovers a ball. Intrigued, she moves toward it, carefully. As soon as she touches it, the magic of the stage is unleashed: the lights go up, the decor appears all around her, shadows play their tricks… and transform one dancer into many! Now there are four of her, to play together and discover a constantly changing environment: a graphical world made up of forms, colours, textures, sounds, and illusions. A topsy-turvy playground where dance continually shifts with the context, this performance full of surprises invites audiences to see the world afresh through the eyes of a child who explores.

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
Approximate duration: 40 minutes