Open Waters

Fritz Lang’s classic film of 1927, Metropolis began production 100 years ago, engaging with threats and opportunities of dramatic technological change. A century later, these themes are a relevant as ever. A short talk will precede the screening, offering insight into the production and themes in this pivotal work of cinematic futurism. Over the past century, ... Read more

In partnership with Scotia Festival and Everyseeker, we are delighted to bring you Cello Labyrinth. Internationally renowned Indigenous cellist and composer Cris Derksen teams up with three extraordinary cellists from the Maritimes, India Gailey, Leandra Gold and Blanche Israël, for a multi-cello, multi-media evening of exploration, sharing, and experiment. Tickets $22.34-38.09

Featuring: Karl Hirzer, conductor (Vancouver) Soloists: cris derksen, Mark Morton, Charna Matsushige & Victoria Dubois, Eileen Walsh Nova Scotia’s favourite orchestra will be featuring Cree cellist-composer cris derksen (Alberta), Amy Brandon (Truro, NS), and world premieres by emerging Halifax composers Garrett Niall and Ben Fraser, and Nicola Miller (Chester Basin NS) who was the recipient ... Read more

The New Music Ensemble (NME) at Dalhousie’s Fountain School of Performing Arts (FSPA) defies categorization by traditional standards. The NME blurs the boundaries between composition and performance, old and new ways of playing, acoustic and electronic music, classical and contemporary styles, notated and improvised music, and welcomes collaboration across disciplines. This super creative group of ... Read more

L'Envers du monde (The reverse of the world) was created for a month-long residency at CEM in Chicoutimi, Québec. For this creation, the composer immersed herself in both acoustic and amplified sound, working on musical textures and atmospheres with talented musicians. They all gathered around the analog synthesizer to explore the themes of night, forgetting, ... Read more

Settled and unsettling, hypnotic and surprising, from glacially slow to sinuously grooving, the voice and music of Doug Tielli trace a hidden line through a wide and subtle terrain. Filaments of classical, jazz, improvisation, folk and pop spin and wind around one another to weave a musical garment that is both warm and comfortable while ... Read more

Borrowers is a collection of joyful, playful music, inspired by the warmth of sunshine, growing plants, and the simple, peaceful feeling that comes when everything seems to be going just right. Many of these pieces were written in the quiet moments between teaching kids, capturing the fleeting beauty of life’s smaller, yet profound, joys. The ... Read more

Miller, Donnelly and D'Amato reshape the familiar contours of the jazz songbook into a form all its own. The ensemble approaches classic standards as open canvases, stretching and bending melodies into ever-evolving organisms. Their interplay is fluid and conversational—sometimes tender, sometimes explosive—guided by deep listening and a shared commitment to discovery. Expect revered tunes to ... Read more

An Afro Futuristic, Greek Tragedy Opera for hip hop ensemble and 16 piece chamber orchestra. Created by Aquakultre, DJ Uncle Fester, John Hargreaves and Jeff Reilly My Bad, Europa is a story of a God, an omnipotent, but deeply flawed deity born within the structures and restrictions of Universal Royalty and power. His basket, gifted ... Read more

Neural Synthesis No. 19 David Tudor (Realized by John D.S. Adams) David Tudor (1926-1996) revolutionized electronic music through pioneering feedback-based compositions. As a virtuoso pianist, he premiered iconic works by Stockhausen, Feldman, Boulez, and Wolff while collaborating intimately with John Cage.Experience a rare performance of Tudor's Neural Synthesis No. 19, brought to life by his ... Read more

Presented by suddenlyLISTEN, SHAPEVILLE is an immersive, interactive performance that blends movement, virtual and physical environments, and sound. Through augmented reality, soft sculpture, and live performance, it creates a tactile, playful world where digital and material spaces overlap. Audiences are welcome to enter, observe, or participate as the piece unfolds in real time. With concept and ... Read more

Come and hear a new generation of composers — new contemporary solo, chamber and electronic works by Dalhousie and Mount Allison Composition students, performed by Dalhousie performance students. Students of Dalhousie faculty Dr. Jérôme Blais, Amy Brandon, Chris Mitchell and Matthias McIntire.

Barbara Pritchard, pianist, presents James Rolfe's Memoir, an hour-long exploration of the role that memory plays in how we hear music.  The work is unassumingly melodic and diatonic, navigating time in discrete sections, like journal entries. Rolfe writes, "Memoir was written at the request of Barbara Pritchard, to whom it is gratefully dedicated, in recognition ... Read more

A short opera buy Michael Donovan with libretto by Monica Pearce Featuring Maureen Batt, Sopranot as Caroline Herschel Caroline’s Sweeper follows Caroline Herschel, 16th century comet huntress, as she discovers eight comets. Largely overshadowed by the success of her astronomer brother William Herschel, she was the first woman to receive a salary as a scientist ... Read more

Michael Cloud Duguay  is a Peterborough, Ontario-based musician, producer, and composer known for his prolific and far-reaching collaborative studio and performance projects as well as his singular and highly innovative approach to record production. Open Waters 2026 will present the premier of ‘Song for Omar’, composed while MCD was artist in residence Gamli Skóli in Hrisey, ... Read more