The 2026 Agassiz Chamber Music Festival is once again transforming Winnipeg into a gathering place for internationally acclaimed musicians, adventurous programming, and unforgettable chamber music performances. Running through May 30 at Canadian Mennonite University’s Laudamus Auditorium, this year’s festival, themed “Quartet Fest, ” features performances by the Callisto Quartet, the Agassiz Quartet, the Will Bonness Jazz Quartet, and an array of distinguished guest artists.
Founded in 2000 by cellist and artistic director Paul Marleyn, the festival has steadily built an international reputation for artistic excellence while maintaining deep roots in Winnipeg’s musical community. Following the success of last fall’s International Cello Festival of Canada, Marleyn says the momentum surrounding Agassiz has never felt stronger.
“It was really a big surprise for us how successful it was in terms of audience, in terms of the artists, which is fantastic,” he said of the 2025 cello festival. “There was a camaraderie within the artists… frankly, the artist didn’t want to leave. It was such a beautiful feeling.”
Reflecting on the intensity and success of the event, he added, “It was such an intense 5 days. It was fabulous.”
A Festival Built Around the String Quartet
This year’s “Quartet Fest” theme places the string quartet at the centre of the festival’s programming. For Marleyn, the quartet remains one of chamber music’s most profound and expressive forms.
“The string quartet is in a way this central pivot around which all chamber music repertoire kind of fits,” he explained. “It’s such an incredibly personal medium where you have those four voices and you can express a whole world of emotion in those four voices.”
Marleyn also emphasized the historic importance of the quartet repertoire, noting that many of history’s greatest composers turned to the medium for some of their deepest musical statements.
“So many of the greatest composers of the last 400 years chose the string quartet for, I think, some of their most profound expressions; Haydn, Beethoven, Mozart, Bartok, Schubert, Shostakovich, it’s incredible.”
One of the festival’s major highlights is the appearance of the internationally acclaimed Callisto Quartet, prize winners at both the Banff International String Quartet Competition and the Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.
“They were rehearsing first thing this morning and sounded absolutely amazing,” Marleyn said shortly after the ensemble arrived in Winnipeg from a Bermuda Music Festival.
The Agassiz Quartet and the Art of Collaboration
Alongside the Callisto Quartet, audiences will also hear performances by the newly formed Agassiz Quartet, featuring violinists Karl Stobbe and Amy Hillis, violist David Harding, and Marleyn himself on cello.
Marleyn spoke candidly about the unique chemistry required in string quartet playing and the difference between long-standing professional ensembles and ad hoc collaborations.
“Nobody can reach the same level of blends and homogeneity and just quality of quartet playing as a professional student quartet that rehearses six or seven days a week for years at a time,” he said. “The unspoken understanding, the 6th sense that is created over those years.”
Still, he described the Agassiz Quartet as an exciting and deeply rewarding collaboration among trusted colleagues and close musical friends.
“It’s really fun playing with Karl and Amy and Dave,” he said. “Karl is just a gem to have here in this city.”
Marleyn also praised Stobbe’s recent artistic growth, saying, “He’s really come into his own in the last couple of years even more. It’s extraordinary.”
From Jazz to Emerging Artists
While classical chamber music remains the festival’s foundation, Agassiz continues to broaden its artistic scope by welcoming other musical styles into the programming. This year includes a performance by the Will Bonness Jazz Quartet, led by multi-Juno Award-winning pianist Will Bonness.
“Well, I like lots of different styles of music,” Marleyn said. “Will is a multi-Juno award-winning jazz pianist. I mean, he would be exceptional in any city in the world.”
The festival also continues its longstanding Emerging Artist Series, which has helped showcase young musicians for more than a decade.
“If you look down the list of emerging artists who we’ve featured, pretty much every single one of those people has a pretty impressive career now,” Marleyn noted.
This year’s emerging artist concert features percussionist Nathan Gibbens, alongside pianist and University of Manitoba Dean of Music Stephen Runge.
Marleyn emphasized the importance of Agassiz’s longstanding partnership with the University of Manitoba’s Desautels Faculty of Music, where the International Cello Festival was hosted last fall.
“It’s great to have that partnership,” he said.
Cellos, Tchaikovsky, and a Festival Finale
One of the festival’s most eclectic concerts is the Five Play Cello performance, featuring repertoire that spans baroque music, tango, and rock and roll. Marleyn says cello ensembles possess a uniquely warm and social energy.
“Cellists tend to be friends. I mean, they get on,” he laughed. “Cellists have a great time playing together.”
He also spoke enthusiastically about collaborating with fellow cellists Ethan Ehlers, Samuel Nadarak, Hannah Moses, and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra principal cellist Elie Boissinot.
“It’s a very fun concert,” he said. “I’m really happy to be playing a full concert with him.”
Another anticipated highlight is Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence, performed jointly by members of the Callisto and Agassiz Quartets. Marleyn described the work as one of the great masterpieces of chamber music literature.
“Tchaikovsky was a fantastic composer,” he said. “It’s just so full of joy and love. It’s just an incredible piece.”
The festival concludes with the gala finale Bach to Babylon, featuring Bach’s Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 3 and 6 alongside Mendelssohn’s Octet. Marleyn described the octet rehearsal with the combined quartets as extraordinary.
“It was the best first run-through I’ve ever heard,” he said. “It was really, really incredible.”
For Marleyn, the essence of a successful music festival lies in pairing exceptional artists with extraordinary repertoire.
“I think that the pleasure of putting festivals together is finding fantastic pieces of music and fantastic performers who are going to work together well and then put them on those pieces,” he said. “And I think that’s the recipe for something really special.”
With its dazzling lineup of internationally acclaimed performers, adventurous programming, and deeply passionate spirit of collaboration, the 2026 Agassiz Chamber Music Festival stands as one of Winnipeg’s premier cultural events of the season. From the intimacy of the string quartet and the fiery brilliance of Tchaikovsky’s Souvenir de Florence to jazz, cello ensembles, Bach, and Mendelssohn’s monumental Octet, this year’s festival offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience world-class musicians performing some of the greatest music ever written in an intimate concert setting. Whether longtime chamber music lovers or curious first-time listeners, audiences can expect concerts filled with energy, virtuosity, warmth, and unforgettable artistry as the Agassiz Festival once again transforms Winnipeg into a true celebration of music and community.