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Straits Times
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Show Picks: Concerts by Jacob Collier, Alexander Stewart and cellist Yoyo Wu
Jacob Collier Live In Singapore If you did not catch Jacob Collier's 2022 gig at the Esplanade Theatre, here is your second chance. The English singer-songwriter is bringing the same tour to a larger venue, The Star Theat re. His Djesse World Tour, which has been ongoing since 2019, is based on his titular four-album project Djesse – Djesse Vol. 1 (2018), Djesse Vol. 2 (2019), Djesse Vol. 3 (2020) and Djesse Vol. 4 (2024). From these have come hits such as Never Gonna Be Alone (2023) and All I Need (2020). He is noted for having provided backing vocals for a number of works by British rock band Coldplay, such as Church, Cry Cry Cry and Everyday Life. He has also clinched seven Grammys, all related to music arrangement. At the 2025 Grammy Award s, he won Be st Arrangement, Instrumental Or A Cappell a f or a cover of the classic Simon & Garfunkel song Bridge Over Troubled Water, which also featured vocals by American singers John Legend and Tori Kelly. Where: The Star Theatre, The Star Performing Arts Centre, 1 Vista Exchange Green MRT: Buona Vista When: May 28, 8pm Admission: $128 to $228 via Sistic (go to or call 6348-5555) Alexander Stewart: The Bleeding Hearts Tour In Singapore Canadian singer-songwriter Alexander Stewart's debut album Bleeding Heart (2024) was nominated for a Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year. PHOTO: LIVE NATION SINGAPORE Canadian singer-songwriter Alexander Stewart will perform here for the first time on May 26. He is known f or h eart-rending and hopeful ballads. His debut album Bleeding Heart (2024) was nominated for a Juno Award for Pop Album of the Year. It contains a number of well-played numbers on Spotify, such as the mournful I Wish You Cheated and the confessional If You Only Knew. His piano-backed Blame's On Me has been streamed more than 140 million times on the platfo rm. Where: Esplanade Annexe Studio, 1 Esplanade Drive MRT: Esplanade/City Hall When: May 26, 8pm Admission: $108 to $188 via Ticketmaster (go to or call 6018-7645) Heartstrings – The Music Of Anita Mui Taiwanese cellist Yoyo Wu will make his debut performance in Singapore on May 25. PHOTO: YOYO WU Taiwanese cellist Yoyo Wu will hold his debut performance in Singapore with a concert dedicated to the hits of legendary Hong Kong singer-actress Anita Mui, who died in 2003 at the age of 40. Titled Heartstrings – The Music Of Anita Mui, the show will feature many of the star's beloved numbers, from her first hit Heart Debt (1982) to Rouge (1987), the theme song of the 1987 movie of the same name which Mui acted in. Wu will be accompanied by pianist and arranger Wu I-ling. Besides taking the stage with various orchestras, the cellist has also performed at a number of awards ceremonies, such as the Golden Melody Awards, Golden Bell Awards and Golden Horse Awards. Where: Victoria Concert Hall, 11 Empress Place MRT: City Hall When: May 25, 7pm Admission: $30 via BookMyShow (go to or call 6591-8871) Benson Ang is lifestyle correspondent at The Straits Times. He writes lifestyle and entertainment features, as well as concert and theatre reviews. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hamilton Spectator
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Award-winning musicians to do TVO Today Live Q&A event in Hamilton
TVO Today Live's next stop is Hamilton. On Saturday, May 10, locals have the chance to be in the audience of the live-taped series on democracy and music, featuring a question-and-answer segment with local musicians. TVO's Steve Paikin will host Burlington's Sarah Harmer, and Tom Wilson and Cadence Weapon of Hamilton, at The Music Hall. All are award-winning artists. Singer-songwriter Harmer is the 2024 Juno humanitarian award winner, rocker Wilson is the 2024 CMW Allan Slaight Humanitarian Spirit Award winner and a five-time Juno Award winner, and hip hop artist Weapon is the 2021 Polaris Music Prize winner. Doors open at 6:30 p.m and attendance is free. Attendees will be entered in a prize draw to win books and TVO merchandise. The Music Hall is located at 24 Main St. W. Starting at 7 p.m., the musicians will answer questions from Paikin and the audience about how they relate politics to their music and explore their influence in the world. For more information and to register, visit and search for 'TVO Today Live.' This is the first TVO Today Live to be held in Hamilton. The show is an event series on the future of democracy, with previous episodes touching on the state of democracy in Ontario, U.S. President Donald Trump's previous term and social media's impact on politics. The show has been taped in cities such as Toronto, Ottawa and Kitchener. The first episode was shot in June 2022 at Toronto's MaRS Discovery District. Cheyenne Bholla is a reporter at The Hamilton Spectator. cbholla@
CBC
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- CBC
'I did question God': How Mustafa kept his faith through devastating loss
The first time Mustafa sat down with Q 's Tom Power in 2022, he had just won a Juno Award for his critically acclaimed EP, When Smoke Rises, which chronicled his grief over losing friends and loved ones from his community of Regent Park in Toronto. In that conversation, the multidisciplinary artist (formerly known as Mustafa the Poet) told Power he was looking forward to exploring new themes on his next record. But then, in 2023, his older brother was shot and killed — and grief found its way back into his music once again. "The themes of grief are so redundant, not only in the recording of my first record, but in my life in general: in every conversation, every text message, every meeting, every gathering," Mustafa says in a new interview about his latest album, Dunya. "When my brother passed, when he was killed, it was impossible for me to look outside of that and explore a different thing, because I'd be doing a disservice to the year and to the memory. And so the record was rearranged after his passing because I had to be true to what these years were." WATCH | Mustafa's full interview with Tom Power: Now based in Los Angeles, Mustafa says he no longer feels safe in Toronto, despite his enduring love for the city and his desire to be connected to it. "I can't walk in Toronto," he tells Power. "Not because I'm famous and people are going to chase me down … it's just that I'm not safe in this city, you know? And I think saying it in such a naked way, it even makes me uncomfortable because it's taboo. It is taboo amongst my dogs and amongst the people in the hood to even question our own safety because so much of our life was about protecting ourselves and relying on each other to be safe." There are people in this city that don't want to see me live. - Mustafa Regent Park, as Mustafa puts it, is a "community that's deeply complicated." He estimates that he's lost at least 20 friends to gun violence, including his brother. He says only two of those murders resulted in convictions. "There are people in this city that don't want to see me live," Mustafa says. "If I was still in the arms of Regent Park and in the arms of Toronto, then maybe … I'd be carrying the same kind of rage that some of my boys and boys from other communities carry. I think I'm growing more and more and more empathy for boys from all of these communities." WATCH | Official video for Leaving Toronto: To confront his feelings of resentment and anger, Mustafa has leaned heavily on his faith to find forgiveness. "Faith fluctuates and it's a thing that is acknowledged in Islam: that you're always having to revive your spirit as a believer because it's being tried and it is being tested," he says. "It's only then that you understand your distance from God or your closeness to God. But I did question God and I questioned the kind of suffering that I was experiencing, especially in relation to murder. I just wanted to lose someone differently." While Mustafa says forgiveness is "a universe on its own and there is no beauty like it," he maintains that he's not absolving any individual of accountability for the harm they've caused. "I know all too well what happens when a body is washed, or when a case is opened like a casket and closed like one, when an investigator is attached to a family and you get the bureaucratic shrug in relation to a universe that you lost," he says. Mustafa's debut album, Dunya, is out everywhere now.
Winnipeg Free Press
06-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Symphonic segue
The Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra has announced a passing of the bow for its 2025-26 season. After decades in the WSO's second chair, Karl Stobbe is stepping up as concertmaster next season. He takes over from Gwen Hoebig, who retires after 37 distinguished years in the role. '(Karl's) quiet yet strong sense of leadership is only matched by his infectious sense of humour, and I am sure the WSO could not be luckier,' says WSO music director and conductor Daniel Raiskin, who's worked with Stobbe since joining the orchestra a decade ago. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Karl Stobbe joined the WSO as assistant concertmaster in 1996. He was selected unanimously to replace the departing Gwen Hoebig as concertmaster after a blind audition. Stobbe joined the orchestra as assistant concertmaster in 1996 at the age of 23. He was the youngest person in the ensemble at the time. While his venerable career with the WSO since then makes him a shoo-in for the first violin chair, he was selected through a blind audition process. Performing behind a screen, candidates undergo the suspenseful experience with only their artistry to wow the adjudicators — a format that's supposed to ensure biases about an artist's reputation, age or appearance are left at the door. The WSO says the fact the violinist — who was born to a family of musicians in Prince George, B.C. — was selected by the unanimous decision speaks to his 'remarkable virtuosity.' This reputation certainly precedes Stobbe. He has recorded four albums and performed in many of North America's most famous concert venues, from Toronto's Roy Thomson Hall to New York City's Carnegie Hall. His album Ysaÿe: Sonatas for Solo Violin was nominated for a 2015 Juno Award for Best Classical Album and received worldwide attention — including nods from Gramophone magazine, classical music's most prestigious publication. 'It's a great honour,' says Stobbe about his new WSO role. 'But I definitely, definitely am going to miss Gwen terribly. I'm going to miss her great playing, of course, but really, mostly the friendship and the comfort level that we have with each other.' Audiences immediately recognize the pair from their spot up front at the Centennial Concert Hall, playing under previous maestros that include Alexander Mickelthwate and Bramwell Tovey. Winnipeggers have seen their faces on billboards and posters as ambassadors for one of Canada's top orchestras. But their roles go beyond smiles and playing chops, though they demand plenty of the latter. 'The conductor really provides the vision for what's going on, but the practical component of it, a lot of that falls to the concertmaster,' says Stobbe. With help from the second chair (associate concertmaster), they're the primary liaison between the conductor and the orchestra, keeping the orchestra tight. They often carry the main motifs of a piece, playing the most memorable melodies in an upper range that cuts through the rest of the orchestra. Another key part of the job is shaping the orchestra's sound by deciding how the bows move — up, down, smooth or sharp — and meticulously marking every stroke into the music for the relevant players. Meanwhile, musicians from across the stage look to the concertmaster for what Stobbe jokingly calls a 'second opinion' for where the beat lies. 'You follow the conductor, but there's still an interpretative element to seeing how that beat works,' Stobbe says — especially, he adds, for players stationed at the back of the orchestra. John Johnston/ Free Press Files Stobbe (left) presents Brandon violinist James Ehnes with the Golden Baton award in 2011. 'One of the things that I think is really easy for the orchestra to see is exactly where the bow changes and where the bow starts moving.' Keeping an orchestra locked in — with their dozens of musicians playing Mahler and Beethoven symphonies that are as temperamental about tempo and mood as their composers were as people — turns out to be a highly complex matter. Like a flock of birds, orchestras are a self-correcting system, attuned to the shifts of the group but with leaders who set the pace and direction in different ways. 'Gwen's job has always been to listen the conductor and to deal with whatever's coming from the podium. And my job has always been to deal with and listen to whatever's coming from behind us,' says Stobbe. 'We have worked together, never a fight, never any mild disagreements.' Collaborations this effective depend on a lot of mutual trust, forged in this case over nearly 30 years. As a veteran WSO member, a former concertmaster for the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and one of Canada's most esteemed violinists, Stobbe's certainly earned his new job, and says, 'If I wasn't looking forward to doing it, I shouldn't be doing it!' Weekday Evenings Today's must-read stories and a roundup of the day's headlines, delivered every evening. But, for now, he's feeling a little bittersweet. 'The fact that something can happen and we can look over at each other and know exactly how we both feel about it and what we need to do about it — that's going to be missing,' he says. 'She's just one of my closest friends.' The WSO will toast Hoebig's career this weekend with two shows — Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. — featuring a program of Mozart, Debussy and Strauss. Tickets are available at Conrad SweatmanReporter Conrad Sweatman is an arts reporter and feature writer. Before joining the Free Press full-time in 2024, he worked in the U.K. and Canadian cultural sectors, freelanced for outlets including The Walrus, VICE and Prairie Fire. Read more about Conrad. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Global News
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Global News
Lu Kala among presenters scheduled for arts festival in Guelph, Ont.
The spotlight will be on the arts community this weekend in Guelph, Ont. Speakers, artists and musical acts, among other presenters, will be at the River Run Centre for the Arts' ArtsEverywhere Festival. Marva Bailey-Wisdom, co-director of the festival, said the event will offer something for everyone. 'The arts itself, the breadth of it, it's so compelling. And it allows a more level playing field for people to enter a space of understanding each other through conversations and stories,' Bailey-Wisdom said. The international festival is a three-day event and will feature a variety of lectures, speakers and artistic performances as a way to offer audiences a chance to discuss and gain a fresh perspective on issues currently shaping the world. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Bailey-Wisdom said using the arts in a positive way is a critical component of the festival. Story continues below advertisement 'Many of the presenters and/or guests that come to us from across the world, they bring themselves, their stories and bring their artistic expertise across a broad cross-section of what the arts is,' she said. Juno Award nominee Lu Kala will be among the musical acts at the festival. Kala is scheduled to perform at the River Run Centre on Friday evening. The Toronto singer-songwriter said the arts, particularly music, are critical to help promote change because they give people an escape during uncertain times. 'I feel like music is a lot of people's escape and outlet, and it'd be a shame if that was ripped away from people because I don't know where they'd let out all the frustrations and feelings,' Kala said. She said a lot of people feel lost in today's society, and her music helps them find themselves and feel confident. Kala takes the stage at 7 p.m. The ArtsEverywhere Festival ends on Sunday.
