Opera Round-Up | May 2026 - The Association for Opera in Canada

Hello,

Welcome to this exciting edition of Opera Round-Up!

We’re pleased to invite you to the first virtual session of Conference365, our new year-round collaboration with Orchestras Canada, featuring a screening of Amuksism. You Really Have to Listen. followed by a live discussion with Dr. Dylan Robinson. We encourage you to register early, as space is limited!

We’re also highlighting professional development opportunities from across the sector.

Happy reading!

Monthly Newsletter
May 28, 2026

In this month’s edition:

AOC News
Professional Development Opportunities
Calendar of Opera
Job Listings and Auditions

REGISTER

Association for Opera in Canada and Orchestras Canada Announce the First Conference365 Session: Amuksism. You Really Have to Listen.

Where: Zoom
When: June 23, 2026 |1:00 p.m. EDT

FREE TO ATTEND (registration required)

The Association for Opera in Canada and Orchestras Canada are pleased to announce the first session of Conference365, a new year-round virtual series designed to continue the conversations and connections sparked during our first joint O₂ Conference in Edmonton.

Join us for Amuksism. You Really Have to Listen., a powerful documentary screening and live discussion with Dr. Dylan Robinson exploring the appropriation of Indigenous music, law, and ceremony into Western classical music traditions. The documentary will be presented in English with French subtitles.

In 2017, the COC remounted “Louis Riel” by Harry Somers and Mavor Moore, one of Canada’s few grand operas. Embedded in the opera composition was an appropriated Nisga’a Limx ooy song belonging to the House of Sgat’iin re-purposed and deconstructed as an aria raising serious cultural concerns.

Decades before the opera was written, the song had been collected by ethnographer Marius Barbeau and transcribed by Ernest MacMillan during a 1920s west coast expedition conducted under the Potlatch Ban.

During rehearsals, Dr. Dylan Robinson (Stó:lō/Skwah) and Nisga’a Nation representatives Keane Tait and Michael Dangeli approached the COC to raise concerns about the use as an infraction of Nisga’a Lisims protocol and law. The documentary brings together Indigenous composers, musicians, artists and scholars alongside COC and CMC representatives to examine what is at stake when settler artists misappropriate Indigenous song and ceremony, and what paths toward reparation and redress might look like.

2027 Music Residencies at Banff Centre

Applications are now open for three residencies at Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, bringing together musicians, composers, singers, songwriters, ensembles, and interdisciplinary creators for immersive artistic development in the Canadian Rockies.

Programs include:

Banff Musicians in Residence 2027 (Jan. 11–29, 2027)

A self-directed residency for musicians and ensembles across all genres featuring faculty including Basia Bulat, Luca Fogale, Reid Anderson, and collectif9. For full program details and application information, CLICK HERE.
Deadline: July 29, 2026

Mawacihitowin Indigenous Music Residency (Nov. 16 – Dec. 4, 2026)

A fully funded Indigenous-led residency focused on cultural connection, collaboration, and artistic exploration. For full program details and application information, CLICK HERE.

Deadline: August 12, 2026

Soundweavings 2027 (Mar. 1–20, 2027)

An intercultural residency exploring collaborative creation and innovative performance-making. For full program details and application information, CLICK HERE.

Deadline: September 30, 2026

Participants receive access to mentorship, studio space, performance opportunities, and Banff Centre’s world-class facilities.

The Comeback Strategy: Building Financial Stability Without a Steady Paycheque
Where: Zoom
When: June 16, 2026 | 1–2:30 PM ET

Join the AFC and Credit Canada for a free financial wellness workshop designed for entertainment industry professionals navigating contract work and income gaps. Learn practical strategies for managing unpredictable income, building a “Gap Plan,” crisis-proof budgeting, and creating a more sustainable financial system between contracts.

ASL interpretation, closed captions, translated captions, and a recording for all registrants will be available.