Oktopus
Centre culturel canadien
March 17th, 2026 - March 19th, 2026
20:00 - 21:30
Date to be confirmed: 17 or 19 March 2026.
With their new album Brahms, Balkans & Bagels, the group Oktopus explores how folklore inspired the great classical composers. How did Hungarian folk melodies influence Franz Liszt? What traces did klezmer music leave in the work of Gustav Mahler? How did Zoltán Kodály manage to preserve all the flavour of peasant melodies in his great symphonic works? In this colourful album, classical music and folklore intertwine in arrangements that are as virtuosic as they are touching. Klezmer music serves as the thread running through this journey, punctuated by dances, inflections and embellishments.
Oktopus is an important figure on the Canadian fusion music scene, with nearly 350 performances in Canada and abroad. Praised for the quality of its performances and the finesse of its arrangements, Oktopus has won several local and international awards.
Their concerts are passionate and virtuosic, sprinkled with humour and stories. Melancholic tunes, reflecting millennia of persecution, give way to boundless celebrations. Rooted in the klezmer tradition, the musicians extend its ramifications by interweaving Brahms, Kodály and Mahler, Leclerc, Vigneault and jazz improvisation.
Musicians
Gabriel Paquin-Buki – clarinet, composition and arrangements
Noémie Caron-Marcotte – flute
Zoé Dumais – violin
Francis Pigeon – trumpet
Madeleine Doyon – tenor trombone
Matthieu Bourget – bass trombone
Guillaume Martineau – piano
Maxime Philippe – drums and percussion
Reservations open in early March 2026!
Further information: www.oktopus.ca