GroundSwell Inc.

24/08/2025

Glitches, rewinds, chewed-up tapes — and a singer fighting to keep up while an amplified orchestra holds it all together.

👉 Swipe to discover Break-Up Music: Nicole Lizée’s Karaoke Orchestra (Karappo Okesutura Vol. 3) — a surreal reimagining of Canadian & Australian pop hits (Olivia Newton-John, INXS, Alanis Morissette, ACDC + more).

📅 Sunday, Sept 14 | 🕢 7:30pm
📍 West End Cultural Centre

Presented by Groundswell with Brandon University & Brandon Chamber Players.

🎫🎫 Tickets on bio 🎫🎫

22/08/2025

Join composer Nicole Lizée and an 11-piece amplified ensemble for a surreal reimagining of Canadian & Australian classics from Olivia Newton-John, INXS, Alanis Morissette, ACDC, and more.

📍 West End Cultural Centre, Winnipeg
📅 September 14th 7:30 pm

Don’t miss this wild, one-of-a-kind performance!

21/08/2025

🎻 Revisit the Conversation: GS1 – Of Glow & Abandon ✨

Take a look back at this thoughtful exchange between Victoria Sparks, guest curator Kerry DuWors, and composer Ryan Davis/Radia as they dive into the ideas and inspiration behind Of Glow & Abandon (2021).

A rich behind-the-scenes moment worth revisiting. 🎶

🎥 Watch the full conversation: https://vimeo.com/gswellca

19/08/2025

“The abstraction is often the most definite form for the intangible thing in myself that I can clarify in paint.” – Georgia O’Keeffe

18/08/2025

🎶 Thank You to Our Partners & Sponsors 🎶

At GroundSwell, our work in championing innovative, thought-provoking music is only possible through the support of our incredible partners and sponsors.

We extend our deepest gratitude to:
🎵 Canada Council for the Arts Canada Council for the Arts | Conseil des arts du Canada
🎵 Manitoba Arts Council Manitoba Arts Council / Conseil des arts du Manitoba
🎵 Winnipeg Arts Council
🎵 SOCAN Foundation SOCAN Foundation - Fondation SOCAN
🎵 Canadian Music Centre
🎵 Canadian League of Composers
🎵 And our many individual donors and community collaborators

Your support allows us to commission bold new works, amplify diverse artistic voices, and connect audiences with the best in contemporary music — here in Winnipeg and across the globe.

Thank you for standing with us in our mission to inspire, challenge, and celebrate through sound.

🔗 Learn more or get involved: gswell.ca

14/08/2025

🌌✨ GS4: Plasma Waves and Fireflies – What a Night! ✨🌌

GS4 lit up the stage with a shimmering program of sonic textures, playful experiments, and deeply moving moments. From the opening Manitoba Fanfare by Andrew Balfour to the final notes of David Braid’s Three Imaginary Persian Dances, the evening celebrated creativity in all its forms.

🎶 Highlights included:
🔸 Plasma Waves Investigations by Richard Gillis, woven throughout the night
🔸 Parody of a Love Song by Tetyana Haraschuk
🔸 Lullaby Haze by Gina Ryan
🔸 The beautifully layered Lucioles by Jim Hiscott
🔸 A student-composed piece, Untitled, by youth from Collège Pierre-Elliott-Trudeau, conducted by Brady Gill

With bold performances and glowing new works, GS4 was a night of imagination, collaboration, and pure musical joy.

Missed it? Or want to relive it?
🎧 Watch the full concert at GroundSwell’s Vimeo channel. https://vimeo.com/gswellca

12/08/2025

✨ Something Exciting is Brewing… 🎵

We’re hard at work crafting the GroundSwell 2025–26 season, and trust us — it’s going to be unlike anything you’ve heard before.

Fresh talent, daring compositions, and sonic journeys that will push boundaries and spark new conversations. 🔥

We’re buzzing with anticipation and can’t wait to reveal the full lineup soon. Until then… keep your ears open and your curiosity ready!

🔗 gswell.ca

11/08/2025

🎻✨ Rosamunde Festival 2025: Canadian Sentiments
📅 August 17, 19 & 21
📍CMU, 500 Shaftesbury Blvd. North Campus, Winnipeg
🎟️ $30 per concert or $75 Festival Pass
🔗 rosamunde.ca

This August, experience three unforgettable nights of music that reflect the emotional pulse of our country. The Rosamunde Festival returns with “Canadian Sentiments”, a bold exploration of identity, place, and purpose through powerful Canadian compositions. 🇨🇦

🎶 Aug 17 – Counting for Canada
Kicks off with JUNO-winning composer-pianist David Braid, blending jazz improvisation with intricate classical rhythms in a vibrant set that speaks to the heart of being Canadian.

🔥 Aug 19 – FIRE & ICE
Features emotional works by Kelly-Marie Murphy and Elizabeth Raum, performed by standout talents Elation Pauls, Paul Williamson, and Erika Raum — music that speaks to resilience, loss, and inner strength.

🎻 Aug 21 – Duo for Two Violins
Witness a rare performance of Sophie Carmen Eckhardt-Gramatté’s violin duo by Karl Stobbe and Gwen Hoebig — past and present WSO concertmasters together on one stage.

🎻 Presented in partnership with the Rosamunde Summer Music Academy & Festival, where string players of all ages gather to learn, grow, and perform at the highest level.

Don’t miss this celebration of Canadian music and spirit.
🎫 Get your tickets today → rosamunde.ca

08/08/2025

🎤 GS1: Break-Up Music
🎶 Nicole Lizée’s Karaoke Orchestra
📅 September 14, 2025 | 7:30PM
📍 West End Cultural Centre
🎟️ Pay-what-you-can, how-you-can!

What happens when a karaoke machine malfunctions... and an 11-piece amplified orchestra holds it together?

Get ready for Karappo Okesutura Vol. III — a warped, glitched-out reimagining of Canadian & Aussie pop hits from Olivia Newton-John, INXS, Loverboy, Alanis Morissette, Corey Hart, AC/DC and more.

✨ Featuring composer Nicole Lizée on turntables, alongside powerhouse musicians from Winnipeg, Brandon, Saskatoon & Montreal.

A one-night-only sonic rollercoaster you won’t forget.

🎟️ Get tickets now → https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/gs1-break-up-music-nicole-lizees-karaoke-orchestra-tickets-1559374624479?aff=oddtdtcreator

24/07/2025

Groundswell is happy to be a sponsor of Tempoal Wave's Winnipeg appearance at Into the Music

thursday august 7th -- a matinee performance by montreal-based tabla player  -- 2:00PM -- free & all ages!

"Temporal Waves is a new project from renowned Canadian tabla player Shawn Mativetsky, transporting the tabla into a retro-future cinematic sound world. Inspired by sounds of his childhood years growing up with Atari, Nintendo, and early PCs, along with a retro 80s dystopian sci-fi vision of the future, the music carries a message about the environment, and our need to balance our relationship with nature and technology.

Tabla, bathed in the neon glow of analog synthesizers, Temporal Waves is an excursion deep into aural science fiction."

30/06/2025

🎶 Curated by Kiara Nathaniel and Rebeka Schroeder, GroundSwell presented Untethered at the Winnipeg Art Gallery in November 2023 — an immersive and exploratory concert experience that challenged conventional audience-performer dynamics.

🕰️ Take a step back in time and surround yourself in this experience: https://vimeo.com/883366716

✨ The performance featured Ottawa’s SHHH!! Ensemble (Edana Higham; Zac Pulak), alongside local percussionists Cameron Denby, Caroline Bucher, and Andrew Nazer. Through innovative use of light and spatial design, audience members were encouraged to move throughout the venue, engaging with the performance from varied physical and auditory perspectives.

📝The program included newly commissioned works by curators Rebeka Schroeder and Kiara Nathaniel, alongside pieces by Jocelyn Morlock, Harry Stafylakis, Monica Pearce, Anna Thorvaldsdottir, and Elliot Cole. The concert highlighted both duo and quartet formats — a compelling dialogue between national and local creative voices.

🌟 Untethered embodied GroundSwell’s commitment to experimental programming, community collaboration, and the evolution of the concert experience.