With a balance of national and local talent, our concert series showcases innovative and exceptional chamber music performances.
We are excited to present our 2024-25 season, details below. This series of concerts has been curated by Richard Hornsby (CMA Director), Nadia Francavilla (Musician-in-Residence), and Steven Peacock (long-time friend of the Centre), and promises to inspire and impress audiences of all backgrounds. We will play host to award-winning performers from across Canada, especially the Maritimes.
Come enjoy classical chamber music at its finest, in the beautiful Memorial Hall auditorium.
Peter Allen and Richard Hornsby come together to preset Adaptations.
AIRE y TIERRA is a musical tribute to the stories of our ancestors and the never-ending search for belonging. Living far from our ancestral homes has been a journey of self-discovery — a pilgrimage through the landscapes of foreign lands. In the process, we've forged a new version of ourselves, one that helps us stay connected to our roots. Through the diverse music of Canadian and Ibero-American composers, we share narratives through song in an innovative recital format merging classical music, audio effects, and storytelling. By featuring composers from Alice Ping Yee Ho to Ginastera, we hope to connect with audiences from all walks of life and experience the one fundamental element that binds us all: our shared humanity.
OBSIDIANA DUO
Pianist Yolanda Tapia and singer Camila Montefusco co-founded the Obsidiana Duo with a clear mission: to celebrate the vibrant tapestry of Ibero-American musical culture and give voice to composers who have been historically overlooked.
Renowned internationally as a prize-winning collaborative pair, the duo has been featured in CollabFest and Collabaret 2020, and the International Keyboard Collaborative Arts Society in 2021. Recent achievements include a First Prize at the Puerto Rico Collaborative Piano Competition, a fellowship with the Toronto Summer Music Festival, and an artistic residency at the Banff Centre.
Highlights of their previous season include their inaugural national tour with Prairie Debut and the debut of ‘Circular Sky’ - a commissioned piece by composer Alice Ping Yee Ho and writer Madeleine Thien, supported by SOCAN, Prairie Debut, and the Canada Council for the Arts. This collaboration sparked ‘AIRE,’ a thematic exploration of immigration and belonging within their repertoire. Looking ahead to the 24/25 season, they look forward to touring ‘AIRE y TIERRA’ with Debut Atlantic.
Camila and Yolanda call Toronto home, where they explore meaningful routes of their artistic ventures. Creating sincere and purposeful connections with their audiences is what drives them forward.
Nov. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Hidden Presence capstones a year-long community-engaged project where
sounds and images gathered by the public on artist-guided nature walks structure an improvised work addressing biodiversity and climate change. Works by Canadian composers Juliet Palmer and Hildegard Westerkamp round out the program.
Nov. 23, 7:30 p.m.
Offrande, at Christ Church Cathedral, presents an intimate program of works
for organ alongside cello, violin, piano and flute by the late composers Kaija Saariaho (1952-2023) and Rachel Laurin (1961-2023), interweaving the personal/introspective with the public/interpersonal across theme, setting, process and performance.
Nov. 24, 7:30 p.m.
Women of the North features a new commissioned work by Yellowknife
composer Carmen Braden for violin, piano, voice, audio track and video, drawn frompersonal experiences of displacement in the 2023 NWT wildfire season. Works by Canadian composer Cassandra Miller and Icelandic composer Anna Thorvaldottir complete the program.
Come enjoy the Chorale’s end or term concert in the beautiful Memorial Hall auditorium.
The UNB Chorale is comprised of students, staff, and faculty from UNB, as well as members of the larger community.
Directed by Kathrin Welte, accompanied by Thomas Gonder.
Performing a variety of pieces this year, the concert band expands its repertoire into video game music, performed alongside Hannukah and Christmas music.
Enjoy their end of term offering in the beautiful Memorial Hall auditorium. The UNB Concert Band is comprised of students, staff, and faculty from UNB, as well as members of the larger community.
Directed by Hugh Kennedy.
Classsical guitarist Steven Peacock and bassist Howard Baer explore a number of ways in which the classical and the jazz idioms can intersect in music for these two instruments, not only stylistically but also in terms of form, melody, harmony and technique. Audiences can expect a few swing, blues and latin jazz standards (such as How High the Moon, Bags Groove and Blue Bossa) along with new arrangements of primarily South American repertoire for classical guitar and several compositions (such as Ghislaine, Cassie's Song and Rondo alla bossa) by the guitarist. A certain classical sensibility, an improvisatory energy and immediacy, and an unmistakeable latin flair join forces in what promises to be a unique and innovative program.
Flute and guitar duo, Duo Beija-Flor, presents a dynamic and accessible repertoire of classical works inspired by the many diverse cultures found around the world. This fresh and modern style they call ethno-classical highlights the emotions and experiences we all share, expressing them through the lens of music.
Introducing a new series featuring string quartet and guest. This year, the Saint John String Quartet is teaming up with clarinetist Richard Hornsby to present works by Coledrige-Taylor and leading twentieth-century Afro-American composer William Grant Stills. Rounding off the program is Florence Price’s 2nd string quartet in A minor, bringing to light a forgotten musical treasure.
This concert is a variation on the Women of the North theme. What kind of music was composed in early the 1900s in the shadow of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius? Featuring piano trios from women composers whose lives were governed by gender discrimination but also characterized by a breaking of boundaries, a strength of will and an alternative culture. Music by Helvi Leiviskä’s (1902-1982), Laura Netzel (1839-1927) and Heidi Sundblad-Halme (1903-1973).
Come enjoy the Chorale’s end of term concert in the beautiful Memorial Hall auditorium.
The UNB Chorale is comprised of students, staff, and faculty from UNB, as well as members of the larger community.
Directed by Kathrin Welte, accompanied by Thomas Gonder.
Performing a variety of pieces, enjoy their end of term offering in the beautiful Memorial Hall auditorium.
The UNB Concert Band is comprised of students, staff, and faculty from UNB, as well as members of the larger community.
Directed by Hugh Kennedy.
Admission by donation.
Regular $30
Students $15
Family pass or date night (two adults + any children) $50
Regular $150
Student $75
Individual concerts:
Regular $20
Student $10
Festival pass:
Regular $40
Sstudent $20
Our work to provide accessible, high-quality music has been made possible in large part by our donors and patrons, for whom we are deeply grateful. If you’re able, please consider contributing to our efforts. Please note, you will receive a tax receipt for your donation.
For decades, UNB has provided the university and the broader community with quality concerts by both regional and other Canadian artists. We typically use our acoustically fine, Memorial Hall on the UNB campus.
Experiencing live classical music can be a revelation. An opportunity to get up close to the musicians provides an experience where you can feel the musical vibrations, here the rosin as the bow moves across the strings of a violin and be fascinated at the facial expressions and other forms of communication that musicians use in order to be in perfect synchronicity.
All this can be experienced by participating in the "MusicUNB" concerts in our intimate and acoustically fine Memorial Hall, on the UNB campus. We bring in the finest musical artists from the area and region and sprinkle them with some visiting artists from farther afield to provide quality concerts at reasonable ticket prices.
The concerts cover a large variety of styles and eras. There is something for everyone. Join us as a pass holder (best deal) or a single ticket buyer. Come be entertained and inspired.
