For more than thirty years, Winnipeg’s GroundSwell has both delighted and challenged audiences with an adventurous mix of everything that makes new music compelling. With its boundry pushing sounds and immersive concert experiences, the organization has earned a reputation as one of Canada’s premier new music presenters. .embed-container { position: relative; padding-bottom: 56.25%; height: 0; overflow: hidden; max-width: 100%; } .embed-container iframe, .embed-container object, .embed-container embed { position: absolute; top: 0; left: 0; width: 100%; height: 100%; } As Winnipeg heads into another vibrant arts season, GroundSwell has unveiled its 2025–26 lineup, promising “a rich journey of sonic exploration” through its Live, Link, and Learn series. Artistic coordinator David Litke joined Classic 107’s studio to share details of the upcoming season. Settling into the role Litke, who has been artistic coordinator for just over a year, stepped into the role alongside executive director Heather Lewis after longtime leader David R. Scott retired. “So yeah definitely there's been a learning curve,” he admitted. “But it's feeling really good and comfortable at this point. David Scott had things running so smoothly that it wasn't too hard for Heather [Lewis] and myself to step in and and keep the momentum going and Heather has done an amazing job as the new artistic executive director as well so, yeah it's going really well.” This season marks the first that Litke and Lewis have programmed from start to finish. “It's really good to kind of see these all these ideas that started off to sort of kicking around ideas and and trying to come up with repertoire and ideas for concerts and actually see the whole process of the concerts coming into fruition, We're really excited to see the results as they unfold this season.” Live: four concerts across the season GS1:Breakup Music GroundSwell’s 2025–26 season kicks off with a bang on Saturday, September 14, at the West End Cultural Centre with Break-up Music, featuring work by Manitoba composer Nicole Lizée. Audiences in Brandon can also catch an earlier performance on Thursday, September 12, at the Lorne Watson Recital Hall. The concert centers around Lizée’s large-scale work Karappo Okesutura Vol.3, a multimedia extravaganza that transforms a chamber orchestra into a kind of “glitched karaoke machine.” “The concept is that it’s as though there’s a karaoke machine that’s sort of on the fritz,” explained David Litke. “We’ll hear pop tunes from the ’90s refracted, distorted, and expanded into this wild combination of contemporary classical music and pop fragments.” The performance blends traditional and extended instrumental techniques with electronic elements, including turntables, synthesizers, and pre-recorded tracks. A video component further immerses the audience in Lizée’s fractured, vibrant musical universe. The concert is curated with the help of Leanne Zacharias, a professor at Brandon University and a performer with the Australian Art Orchestra. Zacharias has a long history collaborating with Lizée and played a key role in shaping this ambitious program. “She’s done a fantastic job of getting this giant program off the ground,” said Litke, noting that her work ensures the performance achieves its full multimedia vision. GS2:North/South Following the season opener, GroundSwell presents North/South on Tuesday, November 25, at the WAG-Qaumajuq in the Main Hall. Originally planned for the previous year but postponed due to unforeseen circumstances, this concert brings together diverse musical and artistic voices in a uniquely interdisciplinary performance. The program combines throat singing, Indigenous music from southern Winnipeg, and works by non-Indigenous composers, creating a dialogue across cultures and traditions. Visual art also plays a central role: seven sculptures will be arranged throughout the performance space, serving as inspiration for live improvisation. Musicians Jennifer Theisen, Melody MacIvor, and Ben Reimer will respond to these artworks in real time, blending predetermined compositions with spontaneous creation. “It will be fascinating because so much of the music will be improvised,” said David Litke. “We won’t really get to experience it until the actual event, which makes it a unique moment for everyone in the audience.” GS3:Vestigial Structures On March 5, 2026, at the Muriel Richardson Auditorium at the Winnipeg Art Gallery, GroundSwell presents Vestigial Structures, curated by Gordon Fitzell, professor of composition at the University of Manitoba. The concert will feature the renowned Quasar Saxophone Quartet, based in Montreal, who have been champions of new music for over three decades and have commissioned more than 200 works. “This is a cutting-edge experience featuring audiovisual and surround sound elements,” said David Litke. “There will be lots of video components, immersive soundscapes, and electronics—typical of Gordon Fitzell’s unique approach to integrating technology and performance.” In addition, the concert will feature a premiere by Takuto Fukuda, the winner of GroundSwell’s Emerging Composers Competition. Fukuda, a postdoctoral student at Concordia University, composes using gestural controllers and electronic elements, adding a fresh, experimental voice to the program. Litke noted, “This is a work in progress and none of us really know exactly what will come out of it, but it promises to be an exciting new take on multimedia and contemporary music.” Vestigial Structures promises to be a highlight of the season, combining expert performance, innovative composition, and immersive technology to create a truly one-of-a-kind experience. GS4:Echoes and Tracings Closing the 2025–26 GroundSwell season is Echoes and Tracings, taking place at CMU's Laudamus Auditorium. This concert features an intimate ensemble of violin, viola, flute, and piano, performing works by a variety of composers, including Michael Matthews and Valentin Silvestrov. The central work of the concert is Silvestrov’s Melodies and Moments, a major cycle for violin and piano consisting of 22 pieces spanning approximately 70 minutes. “The composer describes these as melodies on the boundary between their appearance and disappearance,” explained Litke. He added that the work feels particularly resonant in the current moment, given Silvestrov’s experience fleeing Ukraine amid the Russian invasion. “It’s definitely something topical on the minds of many, and it gives audiences a lot to reflect on,” he said. GroundSwell also commissioned a new work from Anna Petrovna Gorna, a Vancouver-based composer of Ukrainian heritage. Her piece for viola and piano, performed by Elise Lavallée and Laura Lowen, draws on Ukrainian folk music traditions, offering both a personal and cultural perspective that complements Silvestrov’s cycle. “We wanted something that resonates with the current situation and the zeitgeist,” said Litke. By combining these works, Echoes and Tracings invites audiences to contemplate the fragility, endurance, and transformation of music across time and place, while highlighting the profound connections between contemporary composition and lived experience. Linked: extending GroundSwell online Beyond the concert hall, GroundSwell’s Link programming shares new music more widely through broadcasts, recordings, and online media. Litke hosts a weekly show on CKUW, featuring Canadian composers and works related to GroundSwell’s concerts. The organization also produces online “curator conversations” with artists and makes concert videos available for those unable to attend in person. Learn: engaging the next generation GroundSwell also invests in education and mentorship through its Learn initiatives. This season includes a student composition project with Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, led by band director Brady Gill and composer Kenley Kristofferson. “They compose their own works, they rehearse them together, they put them together and then they're able to present their pieces during a GroundSwell show,” said Litke. Other partnerships include masterclasses with visiting artists, collaborations with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s Sistema program, and guided sound walks led by Dr. Suzu Enns. “The idea of a sound walk is you you walk in silence kind of slowly and and are just observing and and reflecting upon the sounds that you hear… so it's a very kind of John Cage-ian attitude of of being receptive,” Litke explained. A season of sonic exploration With its balance of bold performances, online accessibility, and hands-on learning opportunities, GroundSwell’s 2025–26 season aims to connect audiences with the cutting edge of contemporary music. As Litke summed up: “We're really excited to see the results as they unfold this season.” GroundSwell’s 2025–26 season promises an unforgettable journey through sound, culture, and innovation. From the glitchy pop-meets-classical spectacle of Break-up Music to the cross-cultural improvisation of North/South, the cutting-edge multimedia explorations of Vestigial Structures, and the deeply reflective Echoes and Tracings, audiences are invited to experience music in ways that challenge, inspire, and captivate. With immersive live performances, online programming, and collaborative learning initiatives, this season exemplifies GroundSwell’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of contemporary music while fostering connections within Winnipeg and beyond. It’s a bold, adventurous celebration of sound that no music lover will want to miss.