Experience contemporary jazz and sonic arts at their most adventurous as Jazz & Sonic Arts faculty come together for an evening of improvisation, experimentation, and spontaneous musical exchange.

One of Australia’s most acclaimed jazz drummers, Simon Barker, performs alongside multi-award-nominated Norwegian vocalist Sissel Vera Pettersen, artistic director of the acclaimed Trondheim Voices, in an intimate duo setting at Rolston Recital Hall.

The evening also brings together MacArthur Fellow and cellist Tomeka Reid, described by The New York Times as a “New Jazz Power Source,” with double bassist Ole Morten Vågan, composer and sound artist Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch, Grammy Award-winning pianist Kris Davis, and Grammy-nominated saxophonist Melissa Aldana.

The two-and-a-half-week Jazz & Sonic Arts residency is an innovative artistic development opportunity for jazz and sound musicians. The program encourages participants to explore sound through improvisation, experimentation, and technology, expanding the sonic possibilities of music.

After the concerts, extend the night by heading to CLVB ‘33 for a free, informal jazz jam.

Music is generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, the Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists, and the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

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Experience improvisation at its most expansive in an evening that moves from the spontaneous interplay of a powerhouse jazz quartet to an immersive surround-sound performance.

The first half features a powerhouse quartet: Grammy Award-winning pianist Kris Davis and Grammy-nominated Blue Note Records saxophonist Melissa Aldana, the first female instrumentalist and first South American to win the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Saxophone Competition. They are joined by Norwegian double bassist Ole Morten Vågan and Australian drummer Simon Barker.

The second half brings Doris Duke Award-winning Iraqi-American trumpeter, santur player, and vocalist Amir ElSaffar together with composer and sound artist Lorenzo Bianchi Hoesch. Described by The New York Times as “the celebrated trumpeter and composer who explores vital connections between jazz and Arabic music,” ElSaffar joins Bianchi Hoesch for an extended set exploring the boundaries between improvisation, composition, and electro-acoustic sound. Bianchi Hoesch’s piece will be presented in surround sound, creating an immersive experience for the audience.

The two-and-a-half-week Jazz & Sonic Arts residency is an innovative artistic development opportunity for jazz and sound musicians. The program encourages participants to engage with sound in innovative ways, using improvisation, experimentation, and technology to expand the sonic possibilities of music.

After the concerts, extend the night by heading to CLVB ‘33 for a free, informal jazz jam.

Music is generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, the Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists, and the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

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Participants and faculty from this year’s Chamber Music residency perform intimate concerts celebrating the future of chamber music.  

Experience these blended faculty and participant concerts in two remarkable venues: the Rolston Recital Hall on campus, and St. George’s Anglican Church in town.

This two-week collaborative residency is aimed at classically trained musicians and composers committed to chamber music. With the guidance of accomplished faculty, participants explore the rich history and contemporary evolution of chamber music, from classical compositions to bold new works, including pieces created in collaboration with participant composers.

Faculty includes the Parker Quartet (strings), Joel Brennan (trumpet), Lee Allen (trombone), Dai Fujikura (composer), Andrew Johnson (percussion), Nicolas Baldeyrou (clarinet), Olivier Doise (oboe), and Allie Su (piano).

Music is generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, the Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists, and the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

Get Tickets 

Participants and faculty from this year’s Chamber Music residency perform intimate concerts celebrating the future of chamber music.  

Experience these blended faculty and participant concerts in two remarkable venues: the Rolston Recital Hall on campus, and St. George’s Anglican Church in town.

This two-week collaborative residency is aimed at classically trained musicians and composers committed to chamber music. With the guidance of accomplished faculty, participants explore the rich history and contemporary evolution of chamber music, from classical compositions to bold new works, including pieces created in collaboration with participant composers.

Faculty includes the Parker Quartet (strings), Joel Brennan (trumpet), Lee Allen (trombone), Dai Fujikura (composer), Andrew Johnson (percussion), Nicolas Baldeyrou (clarinet), Olivier Doise (oboe), and Allie Su (piano).

Music is generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, the Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists, and the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

Get Tickets 

Participants and faculty from this year’s Chamber Music residency perform intimate concerts celebrating the future of chamber music.  

Experience these blended faculty and participant concerts in two remarkable venues: the Rolston Recital Hall on campus, and St. George’s Anglican Church in town.

This two-week collaborative residency is aimed at classically trained musicians and composers committed to chamber music. With the guidance of accomplished faculty, participants explore the rich history and contemporary evolution of chamber music, from classical compositions to bold new works, including pieces created in collaboration with participant composers.

Faculty includes the Parker Quartet (strings), Joel Brennan (trumpet), Lee Allen (trombone), Dai Fujikura (composer), Andrew Johnson (percussion), Nicolas Baldeyrou (clarinet), Olivier Doise (oboe), and Allie Su (piano).

Music is generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, the Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists, and the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

Get Tickets 

Participants and faculty from this year’s Chamber Music residency perform intimate concerts celebrating the future of chamber music.  

Experience these blended faculty and participant concerts in two remarkable venues: the Rolston Recital Hall on campus, and St. George’s Anglican Church in town.

This two-week collaborative residency is aimed at classically trained musicians and composers committed to chamber music. With the guidance of accomplished faculty, participants explore the rich history and contemporary evolution of chamber music, from classical compositions to bold new works, including pieces created in collaboration with participant composers.

Faculty includes the Parker Quartet (strings), Joel Brennan (trumpet), Lee Allen (trombone), Dai Fujikura (composer), Andrew Johnson (percussion), Nicolas Baldeyrou (clarinet), Olivier Doise (oboe), and Allie Su (piano).

Music is generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, the Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists, and the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

Get Tickets 

Participants and faculty from this year’s Chamber Music residency perform intimate concerts celebrating the future of chamber music.  

Experience these blended faculty and participant concerts in two remarkable venues: the Rolston Recital Hall on campus, and St. George’s Anglican Church in town.

This two-week collaborative residency is aimed at classically trained musicians and composers committed to chamber music. With the guidance of accomplished faculty, participants explore the rich history and contemporary evolution of chamber music, from classical compositions to bold new works, including pieces created in collaboration with participant composers.

Faculty includes the Parker Quartet (strings), Joel Brennan (trumpet), Lee Allen (trombone), Dai Fujikura (composer), Andrew Johnson (percussion), Nicolas Baldeyrou (clarinet), Olivier Doise (oboe), and Allie Su (piano).

Music is generously supported by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, the Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists, and the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

Get Tickets 

Global opera powerhouse Hèctor Parra comes to Banff Centre with an action-packed story set in interwar France.

Commissioned by the Opéra national de Paris, the Catalan composer’s Miroir de nos peines adapts Pierre Lemaitre’s novel of the same name, with a libretto by Jean-Luc Vincent. The narrative plunges headlong into the madness of the Phoney War, as France—seized by the panic of a new European conflict—descends into chaos.  

Recipient of the Ernst von Siemens Composition Prize and the National Culture Prize of Catalonia, Parra is internationally recognized for his dramatic and innovative operas. Miroir de nos peines isn’t the first time he’s taken an interest in French-language literature: his adaptation of Jonathan Littell’s Les Bienveillantes premiered in 2019 to enormous acclaim, with the Barcelona newspaper La Vanguardia heralding it as “the most important opera of the 21st century.”  

This free, work-in-progress showing isn’t to be missed.

Opera is generously supported by the David Spencer Endowment Encouragement Fund and the Maria Francisca Josepha Brouwer Scholarship Fund for Dutch Artists.

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A rare, one-day-only chance to visit a hidden gem of Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity's campus.

Tucked into a forested, secluded part of Banff Centre’s campus are nine Leighton Artist Studios, creative spaces that have hosted accomplished Canadian artists, including Joni Mitchell, Yann Martel, Daniel MacIvor, k.d. lang, Lawrence Hill, and Ken Lum. 

During this rare access to an otherwise private part of campus, learn about Canada's rich artistic history and witness its vibrant present.

In 1983, Banff Centre invited leading Canadian architects to design dedicated studios for creative work: spaces that remove distractions, foster concentration, and provide the physical conditions to create freely. The eight selected architects each designed a unique structure nestled in the stunning Banff Centre landscape. Over time, the studios have expanded. Two decades later, the Painter House was introduced to support collaborative residencies. 

The studios officially opened in 1985. Since then, more than 1,000 artists from around the world have used them to create new work—novels, operas, exhibitions, screenplays, choreography, sound art, and more.

Guests are also invited to enjoy refreshments on the Painter House Studio deck.

Information Tent
Connect with Leighton Artist Studios program staff at the on-site information tent. Ask questions, learn more about the studios, and gain insight into the day-to-day experience of a residency in these unique creative spaces.

Timing: 1:30 PM, 2:30 PM, & 3:30 PM

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Faculty member at the Juilliard School for over 10 years, Hung-Kuan Chen is a deeply expressive pianist and a familiar face at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, both onstage and in the classroom. He has performed in many of the world’s foremost concert venues, including Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully in New York, the Kennedy Center in D.C., Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco, and the Tonhalle in Zürich.

Hung-Kuan was born in Taipei and raised in Germany; his early studies blended the musical philosophies of those two cultures. The winner of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and the recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant, he has collaborated with conductors like Christoph Eschenbach and Hans Graf.  In 1992, Hung-Kuan suffered a hand injury resulting in focal dystonia. Through meditation and his own unique research, he was able to heal and return to his life as a concert artist. 

Tema Blackstone’s influential work encompasses an impressive concert career, spanning both solo and duo performances, as well as advocacy for music as a force for personal and societal well-being. A faculty member at the Juilliard School, she believes in passing on great music to new generations.

We’re lucky to have both Blackstone and Chen on faculty for the two-week Art of Piano residency, which offers professional pianists and pianist-composers the chance to work with internationally celebrated artists. Participants advance their craft through individual coaching, masterclasses, and performance opportunities. 

Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.
Additional support provided by the Alice and Betty Schultz Scholarships Endowment Fund for Dance and Music, Helen Graham, and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music Fund.

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