VOICE. PLACE. CONNECTION.
In its 2026/27 season, the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra is both steward and instigator — honouring tradition and actively reshaping how chamber orchestra is heard and experienced. Across eight concerts, the season centres unexpected connections: music inspired by paintings, water systems, sacred texts, literary adventures, lived cultural memory, and the elemental force of movement. We invite you to join us for our 2026/27 season and experience the intimacy and connection of live music.
Subscription packages of 8 or 6 tickets are now on sale at early bird prices – 20-25% off our regular price – for a limited time! Subscribe online or by contacting our box office at info@themco.ca or (204) 783-7377.
1 / GILDED INDULGENCE
7:30pm, Wednesday, September 23
Crescent Arts Centre
Rose Naggar-Tremblay, contralto & singer-songwriter
Anne Manson, conductor
Drawn from contralto Rose Naggar-Tremblay’s acclaimed album Händel Gourmand, this concert revels in the sensuality and drama of Handel’s vocal writing while tracing its spirit into contemporary music.
G. F. Handel
Semele, Hence, Iris, hence away
Theodora, As with rosy steps the morn
Hercules, Dissembling false…. Cease ruler of the day to rise
Hercules, Where shall I fly
Alcina, Vorrei vendicarmi del porfido cor
Giulio Cesare, Priva son d’ogni conforto
Ariodante, Dover, giustizia, amor
Serse, Ombra mai fu
Philip Glass
String Quartet No. 2, Company
Jennifer Higdon
Dance Card
Rose Naggar-Tremblay
Two songs
2 / THE WAY OF WATER
7:30pm, Wednesday, November 4
Desautels Concert Hall
Florian Hoefner Jazz Quartet
Alexandre Da Costa, conductor
A sweeping, immersive collaboration exploring water as beauty, memory, and climate. Blending the improvisation of jazz with orchestral colour, this major Canadian work invites audiences into a powerful sonic reflection on environmental change.
Presented with Jazz Winnipeg
Quinsin Nachoff and Florian Hoefner
The Way of Water
3 / PERPETUAL MOTION
7:30pm, Wednesday, December 9
Crescent Arts Centre
Stéphane Tétreault, cello
William Eddins, conductor
Fresh off a JUNO-nominated recording, cellist Stéphane Tétreault brings his dynamic presence to Airat Ichmouratov’s emotionally gripping Cello Concerto No. 1 — transforming paintings into sound with lush lyricism, folk colour, theatrical surprise, and virtuosic flair.
Airat Ichmouratov
Cello Concerto No. 1
Karen Sunabacka
Born by the River (MCO commission reprise)
Anna Clyne
Within Her Arms
4 / GLASS REFLECTIONS: THE HOURS
7:30pm, Thursday, February 18
Crescent Arts Centre
Simone Dinnerstein, piano
Anne Manson, conductor
Part one of a two-concert tribute marking Philip Glass’s 90th year. A celebration of the contemporary canon, revisiting repertoire from the MCO’s acclaimed 2012 recording that helped define the orchestra’s artistic identity.
Philip Glass
Suite from The Hours
Philip Glass
Symphony No. 3
5 / GLASS REFLECTIONS: THE SEASONS
7:30pm, Wednesday, February 24
Crescent Arts Centre
Kerson Leong, violin
Anne Manson, conductor
The second part of our Philip Glass celebration features the return of one of Canada’s leading violinists in the sweeping lyricism and driving momentum of the Violin Concerto No. 2, bringing The American Four Seasons vividly to life.
Arvo Pärt
Summa
Arvo Pärt
Cantus in Memoriam Benjamin Britten
Tarik O’Regan
Triptych: III. From Heaven Distilled a Clemency
Philip Glass
Violin Concerto No. 2, The American Four Seasons
6 / SKY DANCES
7:30pm, Wednesday, March 17
Room 201 at The Forks
V.J. Sparvier-Wells, flute & hoop dancer
An immersive evening where music, movement, and memory come together through the work of Cree artist V.J. Sparvier-Wells. Blending flute, hoop dance, and chamber orchestra, this program draws on the sounds, landscapes, and experiences of the Prairies.
V. J. Sparvier-Wells
Concerto for Hoop Dancer and Orchestra
Connor Chee
Concerto for Flute and Orchestra
Jonny Greenwood
Suite from There Will Be Blood
7 / TILTING AT WINDMILLS
7:30pm, Wednesday, April 7
Crescent Arts Centre
Vincent Lauzer, recorder
Aisslinn Nosky, leader/concertmaster
A program rooted in musical storytelling, featuring recorder virtuoso Vincent Lauzer. From battlefield drama to literary adventure and Celtic evocation to contemporary reflection, this concert reveals the Baroque as vivid narrative theatre, rich with character and imagination.
Presented with the Winnipeg Baroque Festival
H. I. F. Biber
Battalia à 10
Vivian Fung
Baroque Melting (MCO commission reprise)
Crispin Ward
Celtic Concerto for Recorder and Strings
G. P. Telemann
Burlesque de Quichotte (Don Quixote Suite)
8 / VOX SACRA
7:30pm, Wednesday, May 19
Within the walls of the St. Boniface Cathedral
Andriana Chuchman, soprano, and Cameron Shahbazi, countertenor
Anne Manson, conductor
Set within the ruins of St. Boniface Cathedral, this season finale features Winnipeg’s own Andriana Chuchman in a homecoming performance alongside Persian-Canadian countertenor Cameron Shahbazi. Together, they bring Pergolesi’s emotionally charged Stabat Mater into dramatic relief.
Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
Stabat Mater
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All programs are subject to change
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Subscribe on Showpass or by contacting our box office at info@themco.ca or (204) 783-7377. The MCO offers two seating sections at Crescent Arts Centre: A and B (see seating map).
