Canadian premiere

One of Handel’s lesser known and seldom performed works, Arminio will be gracing the Canadian stage for the first time in the UM’s very own Desautels Concert Hall. This new venue, praised for its excellent acoustics, is the perfect location for Canada’s first look at this opera. This intimate hall lends itself beautifully to the minute emotions and musical nuances brought by both singers and chamber orchestra.

Audiences will also have a chance to experience the Concert Hall’s state of the art projection equipment as projected imagery and artwork play an important role throughout the production.

A timely story

Arminio’s plot centers around the Roman Empire’s attempted annexation of Germanic states in 9CE, a narrative that feels all too familiar in today’s day and age. Director Katherine Twaddle highlights the parallels between this tale and current world events through the use of modern costumes and an updated setting. Set in a time of war, this tragic story revolves around familial ties and betrayal.

A cast of promising young artists

Handel’s music, with its vibrant arias, is a wonderful vessel to showcase the Desautels Faculty of Music’s flourishing voice area. The cast, mainly comprised of Master’s in Vocal Performance students and accompanied by a chamber orchestra of Desautels Faculty of Music instrumental students, look forward to showcasing their skills and bringing Handel’s story to life for audiences this weekend.

Performances

Friday, November 21, 2025
7:30 p.m. | Desautels Concert Hall

Purchase tickets

Saturday, November 22, 2025
2:30 p.m. | Desautels Concert Hall

Purchase tickets

Tickets are $25 general attendees and $12 for students and can be purchased online or at the door.

International Cello Festival of Canada

Artistic Director Paul Marleyn and the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival are bringing the International Cello Festival of Canada to Winnipeg once more. This five-day long festival is set to highlight cello music in a plethora of styles and musical genres including baroque, jazz, classical, and contemporary.

The festival also celebrates many of Winnipeg’s finest musicians through partnerships with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra, the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, and Dead of Winter.

The spotlight will also be on young artists with the Zara Nelsova National Cello Competition Finals, various masterclasses, and concerts showcasing the Desautels Faculty of Music’s (DFOM) very own cello students.

The Desautels Concert Hall welcome cellists

Many of the festival’s events will take place in the Desautels Concert Hall, showcasing the hall as Winnipeg’s premiere chamber music venue, with multiple concerts scheduled in the hall each day.

Minna Chung, Professor of Cello at the DFOM, shares how important this festival is for the DFOM community:

“Having many concerts performed on our campus makes it especially meaningful for both our students and the community as we celebrate the acoustical gem of the Desautels Concert Hall. It’s a thrill to welcome the world’s most dynamic and engaging cellists, innovators, and educators to our vibrant city in the heart of the prairies. I’m incredibly grateful to Artistic Director Paul Marleyn and the Agassiz Chamber Music Festival whose collective vision and generosity reflect the spirit of the prairies: vast, welcoming, and alive with music!”

The festival boasts many free events happening on campus and throughout the city. All events in Eva Clare Hall are free for current DFOM students, alongside offering reduced student rates that ensure the concerts are as accessible as possible for students.

Events taking place on campus

October 28, 2025 | 1:30 p.m, | Desautels Concert Hall
Zara Nelsova National Cello Competition: Finals
$20 General | $15 Under 30 | FREE for DFOM students*

October 28, 2025 | 4:00 p.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
Two Cellos, Two Worlds: Beyond the Classics
$20 General

October 29, 2025 | 9:15 a.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
The Bach Café: Suite No. 1 & 2**
$20 General | $15 Under 30 | $10 DFOM students*

October 29, 2025 | 10:30 a.m. | Eva Clare Hall
Masterclass with Santiago Cañón Valencia
$10 General | FREE for DFOM students*

October 29, 2025 | 12:30 p.m. | Eva Clare Hall
Cellists of the Future: Featuring the C-String Collective, Juliana Moroz, and Jacob MacDonald
FREE

October 29, 2025 | 2:00 p.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
Force of Nature: The Beethoven Cello Sonatas
$30 General | $20 Under 30 | $5 DFOM students*

October 29, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
The Ocean in a Drop: Dead of Winter, choral ensemble, under the direction of Mel Braun and Andrew Balfour,
Conductors with three festival cellists
$35 General

October 30, 2025 | 9:15 a.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
The Bach Café: Suite No. 3 & 4**
$20 General | $15 Under 30 | $10 DFOM students*

October 30, 2025 | 10:30 a.m. | Eva Clare Hall
Masterclass with Alban Gerhardt
$10 General | FREE for DFOM students*

October 30, 2025 | 6:30 p.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
Cello Chat: A Conversation with A Festival Artist | I’ve Got the World on a String
$45 General | $22 Under 30

October 30, 2025 | 6:30 p.m. | Desautels Choral Arts Room
Cello Chat: A Conversation with Richard Gillis WJO AD and festival cellist Zander Howard-Scott
FREE

October 30, 2025 | 7:30 p.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
I’ve Got the World on a String: The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra and four festival cellists
$45 General | $22 Under 30

October 31, 2025 | 9:15 a.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
The Bach Café: Suite No. 5** | Cello Chat: with Matthias Bartolomey
$20 General | $15 Under 30 | $10 DFOM students*

October 31, 2025 | 10:30 a.m. | Eva Clare Hall
Masterclass with Bryan Cheng
$10 General | FREE for DFOM students*

October 31, 2025 | 12:30 p.m. | Eva Clare Hall
Zara Nelsova National Cello Competition Winner in Recital
FREE

November 1, 2025 | 9:15 a.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
The Bach Café: Suite No. 6** | Cello Chat: with Alban Gerhardt
$20 General | $15 Under 30 | $10 DFOM students*

November 1, 2025 | 10:30 a.m. | Eva Clare Hall
Masterclass with Colin Carr
$10 General | FREE for DFOM students*

November 1, 2025 | 1:30 p.m. | Desautels Concert Hall
No Muse Required
$20 General 

Festival Pass ($200) Grants full access to the entire festival, including concerts that have already sold out.

Single tickets and full events list available on the Agassiz Music website.

*With valid student ID at the doors or contact event staff directly

**Complimentary pastries, coffee, tea from local vendors La Belle Baguette, The Empty Cup and the Bakery at Safeway Saint-Boniface.

To read the article, please visit Winnipeg Free Press.

To read the entire article, please head to Classic 107.

To read the full article, please head to The Winnipeg Sun.

The Desautels Concert Series

Comprised of six performances, the new concert series is set to showcase a wide range of music featuring faculty and guests of the DFOM and highlighting the stunning acoustics of the Desautels Concert Hall.

Associate Dean and pianist Laura Loewen believes the concert hall is the perfect venue for this new series: “I love the acoustics and the intimacy of the hall […] it feels like a place where you can take musical risks.”

She believes the concert series will be a wonderful addition to Winnipeg’s vibrant musical life, and is set to showcase many of the incredible faculty at the DFOM alongside the great variety and richness of the music that is created at the Faculty of Music.

This year, the DFOM is offering half and full subscription packages for its concert series alongside single ticket sales. See ticket information below for details or visit the Desautels Concert Series web page.

Stumble On

The concert series’ opening concert, Stumble On, spins Schubert and Müller’s story of a 19th century wanderer on its head. Starting at the end of the cycle, they work their way backwards, intermixing the songs with contemporary poetry and rock music to tell a story of isolation, loss, obsession, and addiction.

Stumble On features DFOM faculty members baritone Mel Braun, known for his work in oratorio, opera, recital, and choral conducting, and pianist Laura Loewen, known for her work as a collaborative pianist with many of Canada’s leading singers. They are joined by Hannah Green, a Winnipeg-based poet who is a poetry editor at CV, and VVONDER, one of Winnipeg’s most prominent rock bands whose members include Micah Braun, Nate Sheridan, and Joey Penner.

Green will be performing excerpts from her Governor General Literary Award-winning book of poetry Xanax Cowboy, while VVONDER will highlight music from their recently released second album Stumble On.

Professor Mel Braun explains how this project and unlikely collaboration came about and why it is so poignant today: “What has always struck me about Schubert’s setting of this poetry by Wilhelm Müller is its timelessness. The same kind of suffering found in these powerful songs is found all around us today […] Hannah Green’s poems, taken from her award-winning collection Xanax Cowboy trace the tortured world of addiction, an apt counterpoint to the kaleidoscopic emotional journey of our young wanderer. And the recent album by Winnipeg rock band VVONDER, Stumble On, covers many of the same messy feelings found in Winterreise. […] Schubert was desperately ill at the end of his life, but he kept stumbling on.”

Braun goes on to explain that they hope this collaboration will give listeners the space to reflect on their own journeys and find the strength to persevere among the harsh realities of today’s world. The performers also ask that the audience considers making a donation to St. Boniface Street Links.

Single Tickets

General $25 | Seniors $20 | Students $15 | Free for DFOM students (valid student ID required at purchase)

*Plus applicable fees.
*Single tickets can be purchased on the Desautels Concert Series page.

Season Ticket Packages
Half Season (3 Concerts)
General $70 | Seniors $55
Full Season (6 Concerts)
General $125 | Seniors $100

*To reserve please call Shannon at 431-293-5436.
An email address will be required to receive your tickets.

Desautels Concert Series schedule

All concerts take place in the Desautels Concert Hall (150 Dafoe Rd)

September 28, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Stumble On (Schubert’s Winter Journey Re-Imagined)
Baritone Mel Braun, pianist Laura Loewen, poet Hannah Green, and VVONDER

October 19, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Beyond Ideas
An afternoon of original arrangements and compositions performed by DFOM Jazz faculty

January 4, 2026 | 2:00 p.m.
Melody McKiver and Guests in Concert
Anishinaabe violist and composer Melody McKiver joined by Beverley McKiver, Daniel Roy, and Polaris Prize-winner Jeremy Dutcher

January 18, 2026 | 7:30 p.m.
Venus Unhinged
Music for winds and voice with the Winnipeg Chamber Winds Collective, conducted by Jacquie Dawson

February 6, 2025 | 2:00 p.m.
Piano Masterworks
Works for solo piano performed by Edmund Dawe, Dean Emeritus of the DFOM

March 29, 2026 | 2:00 p.m.
Winnipeg Baroque Brass Choir
Music for brass from the Winnipeg Baroque Brass Choir, co-directed by Andrew Balfour and Richard Gillis

Designed by Winnipeg’s Cibinel Architecture and Toronto’s Teeple Architects, the Desautels Concert Hall was opened in September 2024. Acclaimed for its extraordinary acoustics, the hall seats just over 400 people. Flexible configurations allow the hall to host a wide variety of events, from chamber music and solo concerts, to dance and theatre productions. A pit below the stage allows for an orchestra of up to 48 musicians to perform in operatic and musical theatre productions.

Held on Sundays throughout the academic year, the Desautels Concert Series is designed to showcase the increasingly wide range of music taught, created, and performed in the Faculty of Music. The series launches on Sunday, September 28 at 2:00pm with “Stumble On,” a modern re-imagining of Schubert’s iconic song cycle “Winterreise,” set to poetry by Wilhelm Müller. Baritone Mel Braun and pianist Laura Loewen will be joined by award-winning poet Hannah Green and rock band VVonder in a presentation where contemporary understandings of isolation, loss, obsession, and addiction shed today’s light on the plight of Müller’s homeless 19^th century wanderer.

The series continues with a performance by a combo of Jazz faculty on October 19, Anishinaabe violist and composer Melody McKiver launches their new album on January 4, Jacquie Dawson conducts the Winnipeg Chamber Winds Collective on January 18, Dean Emeritus Edmund Dawe returns for a recital of piano masterworks on February 8, and the series comes to a celebratory conclusion on March 29 as Richard Gillis and Andrew Balfour direct the Winnipeg Baroque Brass Choir.

Full details are available here, and tickets are available for single concerts or in subscription packages of three or six concerts.

• Sunday, September 28, 2:00pm, Desautels Concert Hall: The Desautels Concert Series presents “Stumble On,” with baritone Mel Braun, pianist Laura Loewen, poet Hannah Green, and VVonder

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The university takes these charges very seriously and is, of course, cooperating with the WPS.   

The university has placed the individual on leave and he is prohibited from attending campus, performing any university responsibilities, or contacting members of the UM community. 

We have robust supports in place, which we have outlined below, for any members of our community who may be affected by these events. We are also working to ensure continuity for students whose courses may be affected. 

I want to recognize the concern and distress this news may cause—particularly for survivors of sexual violence. To those individuals, and to our entire community, I want to assure you that UM is committed to supporting a culture of safety, respect and accountability. 

In recent years, the University of Manitoba has taken significant steps to strengthen our response to sexual violence. In 2018, we commissioned an independent report to provide recommendations to improve our policies, processes, and supports. In 2019, we followed that work with a campus-wide survey to identify areas of risk, service gaps, and opportunities for a more comprehensive prevention and response strategy.  

These efforts have led to substantial and ongoing change across our university, including: 

• The establishment of the Sexual Violence Resource Centre (SVRC) to support survivors and coordinate services across campus. 

• Major updates to the Sexual Violence Policy, including the removal of time limits on complaints, an expanded definition of consent, and a requirement for those in supervisory roles to refer disclosures to the SVRC. 

• Made Sexual Violence Awareness Training available to all faculty and staff during onboarding, and mandatory for select positions.  

• A revised Manager’s Toolkit on Hiring that enhances practices around reference checks and interviews. 

• A strengthened formal complaint process through the Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management. 

We do not share this progress to suggest the work is done. We are committed to learning from our past, to continued engagement, and to taking meaningful action. 

We will do this work together—with humility, accountability, and care for every member of our community. 

Sincerely, 
Michael Benarroch, Ph.D. 
President and Vice-Chancellor 
University of Manitoba 

Information on available supports: 

Please know you can access resources through UM’s Sexual Violence Resource Centre. 

Faculty and staff can find information on supports through UM’s well-being resources.   

Students can also connect with the UM Student Counselling Centre (204-474-8592) which has intake and triage spaces available and will accommodate you as quickly as possible. 

If students need to speak to someone sooner, and it’s outside of usual office hours, they can connect with EmpowerMe/Student Care (for those with UMSU Health Plan).  

The following crisis resources are also available to anyone outside of office hours: 

Canada Mental Health Crisis Helpline (call or text 9-8-8 toll-free, 24/7) 

Klinic Crisis Line (204-786-8686) 

Mobile Crisis Service (204-940-1781) 

With the SISF grant, we will expand the role of North American Fiddlers’ Hall of Fame member Patti Kusturok to that of DFOM Artist-in-Residence. As part of her role, Kusturok will be offering one-on-one fiddling lessons to DFOM students and to UM students outside of DFOM. She will also be teaching a 3 credit course in the Fall 2025 term titled MUSC 3830 (T49) Fiddling across the Country which will explore Canada’s diverse fiddling tradition by taking a look at the many fiddling styles practiced in Canada, listening to various fiddlers and discovering what makes them unique. In addition to using recordings, live fiddlers will be invited as guests in the course. 

In 2025-26, DFOM is also creating a fiddling outreach by connecting Patti Kusturok and some of our DFOM students with the Sistema program, run by Jeffrey Acosta for the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra. In addition to this link with middle school and high school members of the Sistema program, we will also host other outreach events, including a Fiddling Showcase at the Desautels Concert Hall on March 14, 2026, in partnership with the Red River Fiddle and Dance Society.

Complete registration information for Fiddling across the Country is below: 

MUSC 3830 (T49) – Fiddling across the Country 
3 credits 
CRN 26534 
Fall 2025 term 
Thursday 5:30-8:30  
Instructor – Patti Kusturok