Open Waters Festival. Since 1990 the Upstream Music Association has been a crucial part of Halifax’s vibrant music community—both as presenter and as ensemble. For nineteen years, veteran improviser Paul Cram, a longtime Upstream affiliate, was artistic director. Lukas Pearse, an industrious and[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Nick Storring Issue 125

Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville, 32nd Edition. The Festival International Musique Actuelle Victoriaville (FIMAV) arrives with the late,  brief spring of Quebec’s central region, an energizing jolt between winter and summer that sees the flowering of older vines and new life bursting through the earth. This year’s[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 125

Guelph Jazz Festival. Guelph, Ontario. September 16–20, 2015. Storytelling of the verbal and instrumental variety was an important feature of this year’s Guelph Jazz Festival. New venues such as Heritage Hall, Guelph’s first black church, and the soft-seated Guelph Little Theatre added a feeling of intimacy to the festival’s[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Ken Waxman Issue 124

Apocalypsis I ATTENDED A PERFORMANCE of the Luminato Festival’s production of R. Murray Schafer’s Apocalypsis not knowing what to expect; the full version of this work had only been produced once, thirty-five years ago. After the performance, I obtained the scores for its two acts[...] Read more

Concerts and Events John Oswald Issue 123

Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville In 2014, FIMAV celebrated its thirtieth edition—a testimony to founder and artistic director Michel Levasseur’s vision and pragmatism. He has built a loyal audience, secured firm community, government, and industry support, and developed a team that year after year delivers[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 123

Festival of New Trumpet Music: 2nd Edition. Featuring the instrument in all imaginable contexts, the Festival of New Trumpet (FONT) Music was founded in New York City twelve years ago by Dave Douglas and the late Roy Campbell, Jr. FONT Music Canada is now in its second year, imported north by former Montrealer Aaron Shragge (who helps[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Lawrence Joseph Issue 122

Send + Receive: A Festival of Sound, 16. Send + Receive (s+r), a sound-art showcase held annually in Winnipeg, is curated around a different theme each year. Its acknowledged aims are to highlight the contributions of women to sound art, to develop an audience for emerging local artists, and to utilize different venues from one[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Daniel Emberg Issue 121

30th Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville. The Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville (FIMAV) celebrated a milestone this year, presenting its 30th festival of musique actuelle—that unique French descriptor covering improvised music, chance, electronica, the avant edges of jazz, rock, folk, and world, and[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 120

Whitney Biennial 2014 It would have been easy to walk into the Whitney Museum, head for the ticket counter and on to the elevators, while entirely missing the first of the pieces by more than one hundred artists in the 2014 Biennial. The sounds drifting down from the ceiling in the American composer-and-[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Kurt Gottschalk Issue 119

Harry Partch’s Delusion of the Fury. A resonant boom rippling through your body—that is the impact of the Marimba Eroica, arguably the lowest-pitched percussion instrument in existence. Four thick slabs of wood up to eight feet long—each placed over a sizable resonator—make you feel rather than hear its[...] Read more

Concerts and Events René van Peer Issue 118

Jazz em Agosto, 30th edition. Jazz em Agosto’s thirtieth edition added a few more performances than usual, but stuck to what it’s done so well for so long. The festival is presented by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, sponsor of a symphony, a concert hall, a major museum, and a modern art gallery, all in[...] Read more

Concerts and Events Stuart Broomer Issue 117