About the Festival
Mark your calendars for an extraordinary week of chamber music. The Agassiz Chamber Music Festival returns to Winnipeg May 24–30, 2026 for an extraordinary week of chamber music.
This year's theme, Quartetfest, celebrates the power and intimacy of the quartet. From opening night to the closing concert, each day brings fresh encounters with this remarkable format — string quartets, jazz quartets, and everything in between. From seasoned concert-goers to first-time listeners, Quartetfest promises an unforgettable week of music that is intimate, adventurous, and alive.
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Festival Artists
From string quartets to jazz ensembles, classical virtuosos to innovative improvisers — Quartetfest brings together an extraordinary gathering of chamber musicians united by the power of four. The Callisto Quartet and the festival's own Agassiz Quartet anchor the season with world-class string playing, while the Will Bonness Jazz Quartet brings bold improvisation and a fresh voice to the chamber stage.
Joining them are celebrated soloists and collaborative artists — pianists, a harpsichordist, cellists, and double bass — alongside your host Andrea Ratuski, all coming together for an intimate and unforgettable celebration of music.
The Callisto Quartet
String Quartet
Hannah Moses
Cello | USA
David Harding
Viola | Canada
Niall Cade
Tenor Saxophone | Canada
Meredith Johnson
Double Bass | Canada
Everett Hopfner
Harpsichord | Canada
Eric Tsai
Violin | USA
The Agassiz Quartet
String Quartet | Canada
Paul Marleyn
Artistic Director & Cello | Canada
Julian Bradford
Bass | Canada
Ethan Allers
Cello | Canada
Gregory Lewis
Violin | Canada
Karl Stobbe
Violin | Canada
Will Bonness Jazz Quartet
Jazz Quartet | Canada
Rob Siwik
Drums | Canada
Elie Boissinot
Cello | Canada
Eva Kennedy
Viola | USA/Canada
Amy Hillis
Violin | Canada
Will Bonness
Piano | Canada
Stephen Runge
Piano | Canada
Samuel Nadurak
Cello | Canada
Festival Schedule and Tickets
Browse the complete festival schedule below. Click on any event title for details about performances, artists, and programs, or to purchase single tickets. Concerts, artists, venues, and times are subject to change.
Single Tickets
Single tickets are now available. Click on any event below to purchase.
Festival passes are sold through Zeffy, a nonprofit ticketing platform. Zeffy includes an optional fee to help us receive 100% of your purchase - this fee is completely voluntary and you can set this to $0 in the Order Summary if you prefer.
May
Clara and Johannes
What does it sound like when two extraordinary musicians spend decades inspiring each other? This opening night concert traces the intimate creative friendship of Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms through their chamber music. We begin with the elegant, dancing world of Henry Purcell that preceded them, before moving into the rich emotional landscape the two romantics shared. Brahms’s monumental Piano Quartet brings the evening to a thrilling close, featuring celebrated Canadian pianist and Dean of the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music, Stephen Runge.
Sunday, May 24 at 7:30 PM
Laudamus Auditorium, Canadian Mennonite University
24
May
The Callisto String Quartet
meets Agassiz
An evening of chamber music brings together the vibrant artistry of the Callisto String Quartet and Agassiz musicians in a program spanning centuries and styles. Beethoven’s luminous String Quartet No. 5 opens the concert with elegance, wit, and classical brilliance, followed by Reena Esmail’s Ragamala, a richly textured work that weaves Indian and Western musical traditions into a captivating contemporary soundscape. After intermission, Karen Sunabacka’s Reel Waltz offers a spirited modern reflection on dance forms and lyrical expression. The program concludes with Dvořák’s beloved Piano Quintet in A major, a masterpiece overflowing with warmth, rhythmic vitality, and soaring melodies.
Monday, May 25 at 7:30 PM
Laudamus Auditorium, Canadian Mennonite University
25
May
Will Bonness Jazz Quartet
An evening to sit back, close your eyes, and let the music wash over you. Winnipeg’s own Juno Award-winning Will Bonness leads his quartet through the repertoire of jazz’s most celebrated small ensembles — the brooding intensity of John Coltrane, the playful unpredictability of Thelonious Monk, the cool sophistication of the Modern Jazz Quartet. Classic and modern, familiar and surprising.
Tuesday, May 26 at 7:30 PM
Laudamus Auditorium, Canadian Mennonite University
26
May
Emerging Artist Recital
There is something thrilling about witnessing an exceptional young artist at the start of their journey. Agassiz is proud to present percussionist Nathan Gibbens, accompanied by pianist Carla Plosz, in a solo recital.
Wednesday, May 27 at 12:00 PM
Laudamus Auditorium, Canadian Mennonite University
27
May
Five Play Cello
Five friends take the stage for an evening that moves from the stately elegance of the baroque, through romanticism, tango, and jazz, into a brand new work by Winnipeg’s own Samuel Nadurak, and finally arriving at rock ‘n’ roll. Supported by the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra’s newest principal cellist Elie Boissinot, alongside Hannah Moses, Samuel Nadurak, Ethan Allers, and Paul Marleyn, this is an evening of pure, joyful, boundary-smashing fun.
Thursday, May 28 at 7:30 PM
Laudamus Auditorium, Canadian Mennonite University
28
May
Three works, three worlds — and a single thread of radiant string writing connecting them all. Mozart’s “Dissonance” Quartet opens with one of classical music’s most unsettling and beautiful introductions before resolving into pure sunlight. A haunting new work by Canadian composer Derek Charke, commissioned by the celebrated St. Lawrence String Quartet, bridges past and present. Then Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence — composed in 1890 and named for the city where he sketched its themes — pours passion and restless energy into six string voices in one of the most intoxicating works ever written for chamber strings.
Friday, May 29 at 7:30 PM
Laudamus Auditorium, Canadian Mennonite University
29
May
Gala Finale – from Bach to Babylon
We close the festival where so much of western music begins — with J.S. Bach. Two of his irresistible Brandenburg Concertos bookend an evening that spans from baroque exuberance to urgent contemporary voices: award-winning violinist Amy Hillis presents Sid Robinovitch’s Adieu Babylon, a work that confronts the political challenges of our moment. And then, as a final gift to our audience, Mendelssohn’s String Octet — written at the astonishing age of sixteen, by a composer who would later almost single-handedly resurrect Bach’s music for the world. A miraculous work to close a miraculous week.
Saturday, May 30 at 7:30 PM
Laudamus Auditorium, Canadian Mennonite University
30
2026 Festival Sponsors
