A note from our Artistic Director
August 2026
Dear Music Lovers,
Welcome to the Music Room Chamber Players series 2026-2027! There are so many highlights I want to share with you. Let's dive in:
We will hear piano recitals by four extremely impressive musicians: Canadians Stéphan Sylvestre, Katherine Dowling, and Eve Egoyan, and Lana Bode from the UK.
Louise Bessette, Marc Djokic and Chloé Dominguez celebrate the unique music of Astor Piazzolla.
Two concerts will showcase former festival Young Artists: in January, a magnificent trio of Young Artists, who met at the festival in 2026 will bring us music for winds and piano; and In March, violinist Zach Levin returns with his superb new string quartet.
We celebrate our local musicians with performances by SNS concertmaster Renaud Lapierre and friends; Trio Nova Scotia (celebrating a 30 year milestone!); local jazz master Silvio Pupo; and the newly-formed Tri-elles.
SHHH!! Ensemble (Guest Artists at the 2025 festival) will return with a stunning selection of music for piano and percussion.
The Scotia Festival String Quartet will be here in March for a special concert where I will reveal the program details of the 2027 festival.
Beloved Scotia Festival Guest artists Airi Yoshioka and John Novacek close our season with the complete Beethoven violin sonatas in a mini-festival of three concerts to mark the bicentenary of the composer's death.
If you like the offerings here, please consider subscribing - the full subscription represents a 50% savings, giving you each concert for just $17.50. This year you can build your own series with our pick-6 package. I'm very glad that our livestreams continue to be popular; we love our online audience and are so glad to share the music with you in this special way.
I look forward to seeing you for another great season of chamber music in the warm and intimate setting of the Music Room!
Simon Docking
Managing and Artistic Director
p.s. Remember there is another special highlight this season - on Sunday, October 18, we are honoured to join Symphony Nova Scotia and Cecilia Concerts to present a recital by Canadian superstar James Ehnes, as part of his cross-country 50th birthday tour, with Andrew Armstrong at the piano! This is a special one-off event, with tickets available through the SNS box office.