Planning a festival lineup is always a tricky thing. It depends on who is touring, who you can afford and when the acts are available. Toss in a global pandemic and it's a bit of a crap shoot. But because festivals need to start preparing for
The National Arts Centre will be back on a Carnegie Hall stage for the first time two decades when it premieres a new work by the legendary composer Philip Glass in 2021. The April 28, 2021 concert will also feature Shostakovich’s Symphony No. 9 and the
When we think about the obstacles in a musician's life it's usually about the travails of making CDs and touring across this vast country and beyond. But things also happen to them personally and that makes their stories more compelling. Laila Biali has faced some personal tragedies
Touring for any performer is a tricky business. From town to city, big venue to small, there is a lot of stress because the audience always expects the best. That pressure goes with the territory, but in the age of novel coronavirus, there's added anxiety
In Helena Loureiro's family home in Portugal, the importance of good ingredients for cooking mattered. Her grandmother Maria Benvinda insisted upon them. Maria Benvinda was an excellent cook. Helena would work with her when she prepared food for weddings and baptisms in the village. It also helped
A decade ago Ottawa was a different place. No light rail troubles then. Stephen Harper was prime minister and Jim Watson was just elected mayor. This was also the time that a group of dedicated versifiers started thinking about what is now known as VERSefest. Starting on
The connections between Canada and the Netherlands dot this city every spring as tens of thousands of tulips bloom across the city. But the ties extend beyond this annual floral celebration that began after the Second World War in recognition for Canada's part in the liberation
Musicians are also entrepreneurs and they have to do a lot of different things to advance their art and their careers. Consider the case of the SHHH!! Ensemble, an Ottawa-based duo featuring percussionist Zac Pulak and pianist Edana Higham. They recently combined their Spirits concert
You usually hear “please don’t touch the art,” but, in this case, please do. Press that button. Open that hatch. Spin that goat’s arse. Your interaction is essential to Tim desClouds’ new works. As with the political situations and circumstances that desClouds is commenting upon,
The bewildering explanation as to why the National Gallery of Canada cancelled a long-planned exhibition of Old Masters paintings from Liechtenstein raises far more questions than it answers. And no one wants answers more than Johann Kraftner, director of the organization Liechtenstein: The Princely Collections. Kraftner
