Calgary Classical

On Saturday, January 31, the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra invites audiences to Sounds Like Alberta - a concert shaped as a fully immersive journey through landscape, storytelling, and atmosphere.

Though the works on the program may seem stylistically different at first glance, they share a common thread: each is a kind of tone painting—music that evokes place, mood, and motion, drawing listeners into a vivid world of imagination. The performance expands beyond the traditional concert format with visual and participatory elements designed to deepen audience connection.

One highlight is The Daniel Pelton Collective 's Duet for Percussion & Orchestra, featuring percussionist Bob Fenske, who will teach the audience a pair of quick six-second rhythmic patterns to listen for throughout the piece. Fenske describes being drawn to the unique textures created by timpani, snare drum, and suspended cymbal swells - effects that will come fully alive in acoustic performance.

The program also features Calgary composer Donovan Seidle 's "Wildies of the Alberta Plains," as well as "Muskwa’s Mountain Home" by composer Virginia Jessica Sparvier-Wells . Muskwa is the Cree word for “bear,” and the work is inspired by Alberta’s Highwood Pass and a resident female grizzly and her two cubs. The piece traces both the landscape and the small adventures of the bear family in their mountain home and was originally commissioned by the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra for a COVID-era special with Tom Jackson.

Adding to the immersive design of the evening, a live painter will create artwork onstage in real time, responding directly to the music; the finished piece will be auctioned after the concert. The evening concludes with Beethoven’s “Pastoral” Symphony, accompanied by lighting that shifts with the spirit of each movement, reinforcing the work’s natural imagery and emotional arc.

Leading the orchestra is conductor Janna Sailor, Conductor and Violinist , praised by critics as “charismatic, crisp, precise, and elegant.” Sailor is Director of the Canadian Music Centre’s Prairie Region and founder of Vancouver’s Allegra Chamber Orchestra—an ensemble dedicated to amplifying underrepresented voices through music.

More info about the concert through https://www.calgaryclassical.ca/event/1432-Sounds-Like-Albertas'

Ticket Giveaway!

Step into a medieval world this Saturday, January 10, with Ensemble Pampinea at Christ Church Elbow Park — and YOU could decide the fate of the performance!

We’re giving away a pair of tickets to one lucky winner. Here’s how to enter:

1️⃣ Like this post
2️⃣ Tag a friend you’d bring in the comments
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Contest closes 6 p.m. (MT) on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.

Don’t miss your chance to experience medieval music, audience participation, and a night full of surprises!