Calgary's Best Live Classical Music
The City's Premiere Classical Companies, Orchestras & Impressarios
Feb 6, 2009
Calgary, Alberta, is renowned for its oil and cattle barons, and its proximity to the splendid Canadian Rockies, but it also offers internationally acclaimed musical events for visitors who appreciate live performance in the classical genre. There are too many orchestras, choirs, ensembles, competitions and festivals to list, in addition to an accredited Music Conservatory and events galore. This is a selection of the best. These events are so popular that they frequently sell out by subscription, but some individual tickets are reserved and may be purchased on their (linked) websites, along with information about how to get to their performance venues.
Calgary Opera Company
Calgary Opera Company, based in the Arrata Music Center in Calgary's Beltline District, produces 3 - 4 full-length grand operas every year at the Jubilee Auditorium. In addition , Calgary Opera commissions new works. This program produced the critically acclaimed and award-winning Filumena by John Estacio and librettist, John Murrell. Calgary Opera is so popular with subscribers that tickets sell out very quickly, so be sure to check their website ahead of time for reservations.
Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra
The Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, currently under the baton of Maestro Roberto Minczuk, and whose past conductors have included Maestros Mario Bernardi and Hans Graf, is the backbone of classical music in Calgary. Not only does it provide a multilayered season of classics, baroque, light classics, destination music from tangos to czardas, musical theatre and film scores and a wondrous children's series, it brings in luminary talent from around the globe. CPO includes a full chorus led by Master Rosemary Thomson. The main center for the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra is the Jack Singer Concert Hall at the Epcor Centre for Performing Arts, a comfortable facility with state-of-the-art accoustics and the famous Carthy Organ.
Calgary Pro Musica Society
Calgary Pro Musica Society has produced 30 seasons of excellent chamber music, bringing in premiere ensembles from around the world showcased at the Eckhardt-Gramatté Hall on the University of Calgary campus, and special performances through the Talmon Hertz Legacy Series. Tickets need to be reserved by email, but information is available online.
Honens International Piano Competition
Honens International Piano Competition, a longstanding dream of Esther Honens, has put Calgary on the international map for Classical Music. The three stages of this annual event, one of the best, if not the best in the world, take place in spring. The top three laureate positions receive over $100,000 in prize money and launch professional musical careers, like that of Katherine Chi, the very first first-place winner.
University of Calgary Faculty of Fine Arts Celebrity Music Series
The University of Calgary Faculty of Fine Arts Celebrity Music Series brings in some of the finest virtuoso performers in the world, as well as showcasing the best local talent. During the past 25 years, they've presented many fascinating series such as "Music and Science in the Age of Galileo."
Mount Royal Kantorei
Mount Royal Conservatory of Music has a superb choral program, and Mount Royal Kantorei, under the direction of David Ferguson, is the adult choir. They perform several themed concerts throughout the year, including during the ever-popular Christmas event.
Cantos Music Foundation
Most famous for their Cantos à la Carte free lunchtime concert series on the Carthy organ at Jack Singer Concert Hall during select summer week-days, Cantos Music Foundation also presents other unusually themed programs like silent film nights with live organ music, or its piano busker series.
Millenium Music Foundation
Elite soloists and small ensembles from the Banff Centre of the Arts are regularly featured in Millenium Music Foundation's seasonal series.
Early Music Voices Concerts
Visitors with a taste for motets and madrigals and other musical forms prior to the tonal structure of the late Baroque will enjoy Early Music Voices Concerts presented under the artistic direction of Julie Harris.
Visitors to Calgary may also enjoy some Live Theatre or Musicals in that city, or take in an exhibition at one of the city's Leading Art Galleries and Museums.
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