Reviewing the MAT 2025-26 Season

Our Music at Trinity 2025-26 season was a truly diverse series of musical experiences–from Choral Evensong and brilliant Urban Nocturnes concerts to piano four-hands and SWANA musical performances. I would like to thank the Friends of Music at Trinity, the Richard Peel Trust, the Trinity Music Guild, and sponsors Don Swierenga, Jack Carter, Richard and Susan Stewart, Gail Browne and Frances Sjoberg, and The Jane Gianinni Mayer Trust whose support made this season possible.

Our season had an amazing conclusion with ComposerFest 2026, our new series of concert events that focus on works of a single composer.  For this inaugural year, we hosted 325 people over the course of two concerts to hear a wide selection of works by Franz Josef Haydn.  This was a major success for Music at Trinity and I’m very pleased to say that this series is now a permanent fixture to our line-up.  We are grateful to our media partner KBACH for their help in this musical endeavour. Watch this space for the announcement of next year’s featured composer!

Our season opened with a rousing concert by Urban Nocturnes in October featuring works of Schubert, Gordon Jacob, and Danny Elfman. They were quickly followed by A-squared, a piano four-hands duo who performed music of Maurice Ravel and his contemporaries to honour the 125^th anniversary of the composer’s birth. In November, the cathedral choir sang a service of Choral Evensong for the Feast of All Saints featuring music of Judith Weir, the first woman to hold the office of Master of the King’s Music.  December saw another glorious Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols with a range of music from David Willcocks to Tamsin Jones and we even had a Tambour with us for one of the carols!

This season’s Peel Memorial Concert was played by our very own organ virtuoso Kimberly Marshall, who offered a most engaging program of music including one using the MIDI interface on the cathedral organ.  Layali al-Sham, an ASU-based SWANA music group, brought us an amazing experience on March 1 of this year.  With a battery of musicians, they presented a wealth of music that was unfamiliar to most, enjoyed by all, and we even ended the afternoon in dance!  And Urban Nocturnes returned for their spring concert, bringing with them music of Beethoven, Sibelius, and Ravel.

It truly was a remarkable year. Thank you all for your support of Music at Trinity. Now, more than ever, grass roots support of the arts is vital if they are to survive in this current climate.  We deeply value your support and encouragement! I look forward to seeing you next season!