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Sunset <\/em>is a fitting conclusion to the eight-day festival which begins\u00a0its six-concert run\u00a0in earnest on Wednesday.\u00a0It will mark the tenth festival under\u00a0Stafylakis\u2019s\u00a0watch since he joined the WSO as its composer-in-residence back in 2016.\u00a0Since then, the festival has evolved from its early roots under the baton of founding artistic director Bramwell Tovey<\/strong> and has grown to include the Michael Nesbitt Composers Institute<\/strong> and\u00a0numerous\u00a0Canadian and world premieres from some of the biggest names in contemporary orchestral and chamber music.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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This\u00a0experience\u00a0is one that\u00a0Stafylakis\u00a0could not have\u00a0anticipated, nor would he have wanted to. \u201cThe beauty of mystery and discovery and the unknown is one of the beauties of living life,\u201d he smiles. \u201cI\u00a0wouldn\u2019t\u00a0change anything. I think\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0been wonderful and I love it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf anybody tells you that they have a perfect image of what the pieces [are] before they start writing the notes, they\u2019re lying,\u201d he continues, adding that this openness has come in equally handy in composing his own music and in programming the festival over the last decade. \u201cYou start to glom things together and eventually, something emerges.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Engaging artistically with the big issues\u00a0<\/h3>\n
What has\u00a0emerged\u00a0for the 2026 iteration of the festival is\u00a0a series of concerts and works that comment on what\u00a0is front of mind for people as we start a new year. This includes concerts themed around social justice, the rise of technology and the encroachment of A.I.\u00a0\u201cAs fatiguing as that can be \u2013 and I\u2019m sure we\u2019re all overloaded talking about it \u2013 art has a beautiful way of being able to access even difficult or tiring or anxiety-inducing conversations and topics in a way that can be cathartic and beautiful,\u201d\u00a0Stafylakis\u00a0says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
One of the ways in which the festival addresses a difficult subject head on is through its\u00a0concert on January 24. Subtitled \u201cA.I. Rhythm Evolution\u201d,\u00a0the\u00a0program features percussionist Lisa Pegher performing in collaboration with composers from\u00a0Stafylakis\u2019 ICEBERG New Music<\/strong> collective. The concert will use\u00a0electronics, multimedia elements and generative A.I. into a musical narrative that\u00a0sees acoustic percussion elements slowly being joined by technological elements.\u00a0<\/p>\nThe space in which this concert is being performed \u2013\u00a0a first for the festival \u2013 also highlights the subject matter at play.\u00a0StudioLab\u00a0xR<\/strong>\u00a0is a new extended reality\u00a0training\u00a0studio on Portage\u00a0Avenue through New Media Manitoba<\/strong> that will bring the electronic elements of this program to life.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s kind of a self-contained space where we could enter and have visual-oral experiences in a controlled studio environment,\u201d\u00a0Stafylakis\u00a0explains.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Greek inspiration as distinguished guest composer\u00a0<\/h3>\n
Winnipeg New Music Festival audiences will have several chances to interact with the music of Christopher\u00a0Theonfanidis<\/strong>. A composition professor at the Yale School of Music,\u00a0Stafylakis\u00a0was first introduced to his music while a student at McGill University.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cI was struggling a little bit, had a tendency to write expressive, lyrical, melody-focused music,\u201d\u00a0Stafylakis\u00a0recalls of his studies, adding that it was his Greek sensibilities that were contributing to this. \u201cAt some point, my teacher Jean Lesage<\/strong>\u00a0said, \u2018You should check out the music of Christopher Theofanidis.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nStafylakis\u00a0remembers\u00a0being blown away by\u00a0Theofanidis\u2019s\u00a0work and\u00a0knows that his musical language will leave a lasting impact on the festival. \u201cSuper lyrical, super melodic, and a master of orchestration,\u201d he describes. \u201cRarely do I hear something so glowing.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n