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, classic and contemporary styles, notated and improvised music, and welcomes collaboration across disciplines.

 his super creative group of FSPA student musicians explores the techniques, skills, and creative approaches of the 21st century contemporary classical musician and performs repertoire by living composers, brand new compositions by FSPA students, brand new group compositions co-created by NME members, as well as improvised music.

 he NME is directed by FSPA faculty member, composer/performer Matthias McIntire.

Chance Variations by Pierre-Yves Martel, composed in September 2023, incorporates chance operations and explores repetition through superimposed melodic cells that evolve gradually over time. The form and pitch selection were determined using dice, while the rhythms, pitch sequences, and registers were freely constructed. Scored for vibraphone, bass clarinet, and viola da gamba, each performer plays at different tempos, creating a subtle sense of phase shifting, where the rhythmic alignment is constantly in flux. Pierre-Yves Martel (viola da gamba), Raphaël Guay (vibraphone), Philippe Lauzier (bass clarinet)

A reception celebrating the start of another fabulous Open Waters Festival. An opportunity to meet the artists that make the Open Waters Festival the polar bear dip of the new music season.

Featuring: Karl Hirzer, conductor (Vancouver)

Soloists: Geordie Haley, Matthias McIntire, and Shanti Sivarulrasa.

Symphony Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia’s favourite orchestra will be performing new works by composer Tim Brady (Montreal), rising Blackfoot composer Sonny-Ray Day Rider (Alberta), JUNO award winning composers Nicole Lizée (Saskatchewan) and Jocelyn Morlock (Vancouver).  The world-premiere of Brady’s electric guitar concerto with jazz guitarist Geordie Haley is followed by premieres of works by emerging Halifax composers Jeremie Boudreau and composer-violin soloist Shanti Sivarulrasa. James Shaw (Truro) was the recipient of the 2024 Paul Cram Creation Award. SNS and Upstream celebrate his orchestral debut at this extraordinary concert of new music.

Tom Roach’s new project, The Between Times, features compositions inspired by his many visits to Havana, Cuba, and Paris, France. The Havana Suite is Cuban-centric, influenced by Tom’s life-long exploration of Afro-Cuban and Latin percussion, comprised of a blues-based Songo, a contemplative ballad, and a piece fused with rhythms of Guaguanco and Samba.

The Paris Suite is a tribute to the city, with vocal selections and musical retrospectives of visits to a noted Parisian jazz club.

Mike Murley (saxophones), Silvio Pupo (piano), Richard White (guitar), Jamie Gatti (bass), Kim Dunn (vocals), and Tom Roach (drums).

A rare and rarified meeting of accomplished musical explorers who each make a practice of straying far beyond the bounds of expectation.

Sara Constant is a musician and artist working in various forms of contemporary/experimental music and sound. Sara’s practice is grounded in music and listening as forms of research, embodiment, and place/space-making. Trained as a flute player and active as a soloist, improviser, and ensemble musician, current projects include collaborations with composers on new works and improvisations with instruments and electronics. Constant is based in Tkaronto/Toronto, where they work as a flutist, writer (Musicworks), and curator (Music Gallery).

Tim Crofts is a creative artist, improviser, musician, and pianist located in Kjipuktuk, Halifax, Nova Scotia. A true 21st century pianist, Crofts is known for a unique sound and approach to the piano through the use of extended techniques, found objects, and piano preparations. Tim specializes in creative improvisation and collaboration.

Sahara Jane is a vocalist, songwriter, and sarangi player. Ken Shorley is a multi-instrumentalist who plays tabla, percussion, guitar and electronics. Together they combine influences from Indian, Middle Eastern and Western musical styles, supporting powerful lyrics with a soundscape of global electro-acoustic fusion.

Exploratory improvised performance and discussion facilitated by Upstream’s Artistic Director, Lukas Pearse, and featuring five OWF 2025 musicians who have never played together before.  A chance to examine multiple approaches to creativity in the moment. This is a Pay What You Can event.

Questions welcome, listening required!

Pianist Jennifer King will perform two newly commissioned works written for her by composers John Plant “…and then we saw the stars” and Carmen Braden “Night thoughts are not so dark in June”.

The concert will also include two world premieres of solo piano works by Nova Scotia based composers Rosemary Mountain and Michael Donovan plus Jennifer’s improvised take on Joni Mitchell’s song “Blue”.

Come and hear a new generation of composers — new contemporary chamber works by Dalhousie Composition students for marimba, piano, string ensemble, and bass clarinet.

Works by Indi Tisoy Morales, Celeste Cook, Ben Fraser, Shanti Sivarulrasa, Uandha Fernandes Barbosa, Violet Caswell, Eddie Sanoja and more.

Performances by Jeff Reilly and FSPA student musicians.

In this triple bill, Nadia Francavilla (violin, Fredericton) and Norm Adams (cello, Halifax) perform Wash Me Whiter than Snow by renowned Irish composer Jennifer Walshe, while bassist Andrew Reed Miller (contrabass, Saint John) performs his own composition Doors (2017/2024).  Saxophonist and multidisciplinary artist Olivia Shortt (Toronto, of Anishinaabe, Nipissing First Nation and Irish descent) rounds out the show with new work for solo baritone saxophone.

An adventurous ensemble led by Toronto based guitarist Dan Pitt, this group blends styles and influences from a wide array of music while building on a strong foundation of jazz and improvised music. Featuring longtime members of Dan’s trio, Alex Fournier on bass and Stefan Hegerat on drums, the quintet also features a tetrad of woodwind instruments performed by Patrick Smith and Naomi McCarroll-Butler.

The compositions featured in this band vary in writing and serve as a vehicle for the band to take in whatever direction they want, as far out as they want to go. From the ambient wash of ECM influences to the aggressive bite of rock and improvised pieces, this music offers a broad range of sounds and textures that further demonstrate Pitt’s ability to create music that isn’t constrained by the limits of any style or genre.

Arrest The Crown consists of Josh Awe on drums, Shuvanjan Karmaker on bass (amongst other low-end phenomena) and Dilshan Weerasinghe on guitar. The ensemble explores improvisation based around groove, with particular attention to the sonic aesthetics of hip-hop in tandem with other elements of Black and South Asian diasporic music.

Samantha Wilson will be presenting new works for solo guitar and reimagined repertoire from previous projects. This program weaves through composed pieces and improvisations that are inspired by Sam's response to specific places. Sam was the Paul Cram Creation Award recipient in 2021.

Open Borders is an international music group based in Halifax, featuring Mohammad Sahraei (tar), Behrooz Mihankhah (piano), Ali Enriquez (violin), Lukas Pearse (bass), Matthew Gallant (drums) and Carlos Baez (saxophone).

Founded by Mohammad and Matthew in 2017, Open Borders has played in a wide variety of formations, with a unique sound influenced by Iranian folk and classical music, jazz, rock motifs, Western classical music, Cuban music, and an overall love for international music.

A new ensemble brought together by Andrew MacKelvie, former leader of the ambient improvised music ensemble, New Hermitage. In 2012 MacKelvie was struck by a drunk driver, and the accident left him immobilized for months. The trauma of the accident led him to a persistent contemplation of the infinite possible outcomes of every moment and choice.

The ensemble's name comes from the Many Worlds Theory of quantum mechanics, a splitting of reality into infinite possible outcomes. What does this mean for an improvising musician? What is free will, if from every decision every possible outcome unfolds across an infinite amount of realities, blossoming just beyond our perception?

Many Worlds' compositions encourage chance, pattern, and coincidence to arise. Its improvisational philosophy is for the performer to let go and serve the composition of whatever reality they inhabit.

In a world that seems to spin faster every day, Champagne Weather makes time stand still. With a blend of songwriting and sound sculpture, the band artfully connects folk/roots to modern minimalism. Every song is a shimmering blanket of sound with flashes of Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Appalachian fiddle and Maritime folksong. Their music wraps around the audience, creating transformative musical moments.