Don’t miss one of the world’s most innovative pianists as she takes centre stage.  

Joanna MacGregor is a celebrated performer, composer, conductor, and educator whose versatility has captivated audiences in over 80 countries. Returning after a celebrated performance in Art of Piano in the 2024 Festival, MacGregor is back to showcase her ability to pivot from classical masterpieces to the world of jazz and beyond.

MacGregor has released over 40 solo recordings, ranging from Chopin and Piazzolla to Bach and John Cage. Her collaborative and compositional projects encompass jazz, film, visual art, contemporary dance, and electronica, including music for 47 silent Sherlock Holmes films with the BFI.

She’s also an accomplished educator. As Dame Myra Hess Chair of Piano at the Royal Academy of Music and Professor of University of London, she’s head of an international piano department of young pianists from all over the world, many of whom have gone on to great success in the Van Cliburn, Leeds, and Sydney international piano competitions. We’re lucky to have her on faculty for Art of Piano, a program that pushes the instrument to new heights in skill, expression, and composition.

“MacGregor’s verve, energy, and astounding technique are always at the service of the music and never vice-versa. Her ability to inhabit so many sound worlds with the same intensity and commitment is profoundly impressive… An essential listen.” — BBC Classical Review

Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.

Additional support provided by Helen Graham and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music fund. 

Join James Anagnoson and Micah Yui for an evening of music for two pianos, featuring works by Brahms, Dvořák, Debussy, and Gershwin.

James Anagnoson is one of Canada’s most celebrated pianists and the Dean of The Royal Conservatory’s Glenn Gould School. As half of the internationally acclaimed duo Anagnoson & Kinton, he has performed over 1,500 concerts worldwide, earning praise from The New York Times for their “formidable precision and panache.” He has also taught and mentored generations of prize-winning pianists, shaping Canada’s classical music landscape for decades.

Yui, meanwhile, is an acclaimed Canadian pianist, whose playing contains "blazing enthusiasm, power, and technical assurance” (Los Angeles Times). She’s played solo recitals around the world, including at venues in Zurich, Tokyo, New York, Toronto, and Copenhagen. She’s also given radio performances on CBC, NHK, and WQXR, plus orchestral performances with the Syracuse, Edmonton, Victoria, Montreal Metropolitan, Asheville, and Baltimore Chamber orchestras.

Both are part of the faculty for Art of Piano, a program that pushes the instrument to new heights in skill, expression, and composition.

Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.

Additional support provided by Helen Graham and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music fund. 

Program:

Johannes Brahms
Sonata for Two Pianos in F minor, Op. 34b
I. Allegro non troppo
II. Andante, un poco Adagio
III. Scherzo – Allegro
IV. Finale – Poco sostenuto – Allegro non troppo – Presto, non troppo

Antonín Dvořák
Slavonic Dances
Op. 72, No. 10
Op. 46, No. 8

Claude Debussy
Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune
(Two piano version by the composer)

George Gershwin
Excerpt from Rhapsody in Blue (for Two Pianos)

A pair of exceptional pianists unite for an unforgettable evening of piano. Masterful performers from the Juilliard School, Hung-Kuan Chen and Tema Blackstone showcase their technical prowess via selections from Mozart and Debussy, including music for two pianos. The married couple often teaches together and has performed as a duo worldwide.  

Chen was born in Taipei and raised in Germany. The winner of the Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition and the recipient of an Avery Fisher Grant, he has collaborated with conductors like Christoph Eschenbach and Hans Graf. His colleagues include the Tokyo and Shanghai string quartets and cellist Yo-Yo Ma.  

Blackstone’s rich and varied life in music has grown out of her impressive career as a pianist. Her influential work involves the advocacy of music as a force for personal and societal wellbeing, and the passing on of great music to new generations.

Both are part of the faculty for Art of Piano, a program that pushes the instrument to new heights in skill, expression, and composition.

Art of Piano is generously supported by lead donor Heather Edwards.

Additional support provided by Helen Graham and the Yolanda Freeze Master Artists Music fund. 

Hosted by Kyo Maclear

Join us for an engaging evening of storytelling at Literary Cabaret, part of the Literary Journalism residency at Banff Centre. Across three nights, explore captivating readings from participants and faculty mentors.

This chapter is hosted by Kyo Maclear, an essayist, novelist, and children’s author. Her nonfiction books include the hybrid memoir Birds Art Life (2017)—a finalist for the Hilary Weston Writers’ Trust Prize for Nonfiction and winner of the Trillium Book Award—and Unearthing: A Story of Tangled Love and Family Secrets (2023), winner of the Governor General’s Award for nonfiction. Her work has appeared in Orion Magazine, Brick, Border Crossings, The Millions, LitHub, The Volta, Prefix Photo, Resilience, The Guardian, Lion’s Roar, Azure, The Globe and Mail, and elsewhere.

Enjoy a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books at Pages Books, and immerse yourself in the vibrant literary atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7:00 p.m. Afterward, mingle with the writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to experience the future of literary journalism. 

Hosted by Taras Grescoe

Join us for an engaging evening of storytelling at Literary Cabaret, part of the Literary Journalism residency at Banff Centre. Across three nights, explore captivating readings from participants and faculty mentors.

This chapter is hosted by Taras Grescoe, the award-winning author of eight nonfiction books (among them the bestselling Bottomfeeder, Shanghai Grand, and Straphanger). As a journalist, Grescoe’s features have appeared in The Walrus, Saturday Night, The Globe and Mail, L’actualité, Canadian Geographic, Maclean’s, The National Post, and The Ottawa Citizen, and been published around the world in The New Yorker, The Guardian, The New York Times, and The Atlantic (among many others).

Enjoy a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books at Pages Books, and immerse yourself in the vibrant literary atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7:00 p.m. Afterward, mingle with the writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to experience the future of literary journalism.

Hosted by Sarah Berman

Join us for an engaging evening of storytelling at Literary Cabaret, part of the Literary Journalism residency at Banff Centre. Across three nights, explore captivating readings from participants and faculty mentors.

This chapter is hosted by Sarah Berman, a journalist covering culture, politics, and justice. Berman’s first book, Don’t Call It a Cult: The Shocking Story of Keith Raniere and the Women of NXIVM, was shortlisted for a Kobo Emerging Writer Prize and a Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence. She is a former senior editor at VICE and past contributor to Reuters, The Guardian, The New York Times, The Globe and Mail, Maclean’s, and many more publications.

Enjoy a drink from the bar, browse a curated selection of books at Pages Books, and immerse yourself in the vibrant literary atmosphere. Doors open at 6:15 p.m., with readings starting at 7:00 p.m. Afterward, mingle with the writers and faculty until 9:30 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to experience the future of literary journalism

Our Soundweavings residency offers musicians and ensembles from diverse cultural and artistic backgrounds the time and space to focus on their craft. Embracing music from across the world, the program encourages connections between artists working in different traditions.

Explore the program’s global music soundscapes with this intimate concert, which happens toward the end of the participants’ two weeks at Banff. During that time, each musician will have taken risks, collaborated with their peers, refined their artistic process, and been exposed to a bevy of diverse approaches to music-making.

Experience the fresh perspectives of these talented artists as they bring collaborative works and unique compositions to life. 

Soundweavings is made possible through the generous support of the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

Explore the global music soundscapes of our Soundweavings residency, which offers musicians and ensembles from diverse cultural and artistic backgrounds the space and time to focus on their craft. Embracing music from across the world, the program encourages connections between artists working in different traditions.

This concert occurs toward the end of the participants’ two weeks at Banff. During that time, each musician will have taken risks, collaborated with their peers, refined their artistic process, and been exposed to a bevy of diverse approaches to music-making.

Experience the fresh perspectives of these talented artists as they bring unique compositions and collaborative works to life. 

Soundweavings is made possible through the generous support of the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

Experience the visionary work of German composer Sandeep Bhagwati, who brings diverse musical influences together in elegant harmony. And be captivated by Nguyễn Thanh Thủy, a renowned đàn tranh player reimagining Vietnamese traditional music through a modern lens.  

Anchoring the concert is a performance from Australia-based contemporary music ensemble Hand to Earth—a groundbreaking collaboration between Daniel Wilfred, a Yolŋu songman preserving ancient storytelling traditions from northeast Arnhem Land; Sunny Kim, a Korean vocalist drawing influences from experimental jazz; and Peter Knight, an innovative trumpeter, composer, and producer blending acoustic and electronic textures. 

The evening also includes special appearances by Jeremy Dutcher, Two-Spirit classically trained tenor and two-time Polaris Prize winner, and Haruka Fujii, a dynamic percussionist known for her precision and artistry.

These artists invite you to explore music that transcends borders and time.

“In our performances, you’re going to experience friendship. And you’ll hear us share ancient ideas and stories, but told in a way that’s quite contemporary,” says Kim.

“When art-making crosses cultures… what you end up with is the essence of human connection,” adds Knight. 

Soundweavings is made possible through the generous support of the Yolande Freeze Master Artists in Music Fund.

In celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival and National Canadian Film Day we’re hosting a special retro film screening of The Man Who Skied Down Everest. 

Not only is 2025 the 50th Anniversary of the Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival, it’s also is the 50th anniversary of The Man Who Skied Down Everest, directed by F.R. Crawley and Bruce Nyznik. This Oscar-winning documentary tells the story behind Japanese daredevil Yuichiro Miura's 1970 effort to ski down the world's tallest mountain. The film played at the 1978 Banff Centre Mountain Film and Book Festival!

National Canadian Film Day is an initiative of REEL CANADA, a non-profit organization that brings  Canadian films to communities and schools across the country, all year long.

This event is FREE but please get your ticket in advance.
General admission. 
We recommend arriving 30 minutes before the screening to get your seat.