Upstream Music Association

05/20/2026

This team is excited to be bringing you micro/MACRO this weekend! Tickets in bio!

05/18/2026

Check out the full Artist Spotlight on 2025 Emerging Artist Recognition Award recipient Nicola Miller. This Artist Spotlight video features an insightful loo...

05/16/2026

Don't forget to get your tickets at upstream.simpletix.ca

05/12/2026

Excited for micro/MACRO ‘26 tickets now available. Link in bio!

Small instructions, BIG RESULTS – Upstream Orchestra, a dynamic large improvising ensemble features of Halifax’s foremost improvising instrumentalists, alongside exciting emerging artists, under the direction of creative conductor/composer/bass clarinetis

03/29/2026

The fullest of congratulations to Amy Brandon for winning the 2026 JUNO for Classical Composition of the Year!

03/01/2026

01/14/2026

Thanks to everyone who helped make Open Waters Festival 2026 happen!

And wow, did it happen!

The scope and breadth of sounds we shared exceeded all my expectations thanks to the plurality of artists bringing their combined commitment to the flow of music upstream from the mainstream, and the open ears hearts and minds of our beautiful audiences.

Much appreciated too are the skills of the engaged and professional technicians who met the challenges posed by so many events so far from the average concert. As well, the staff and volunteers who helped events run smoothly all deserve a round of applause! 👏

It was bittersweet to finally see Gay Hauser in the audience rather than pushing candies at the Box Office or coordinating occasionally improvised logistics, but she clearly prepared Tessa Pekeles well for the many tasks, and she confidently rose to the occasion.

It is my sincere belief that we all benefit from sharing the journey of new and improvised music together, and I would like to offer my profound thanks to everyone who helped the most in making this all happen:

You.

- Lukas Pearse, Artistic Director

Thank you Bern Boxill for the wonderful pictures 📸

01/10/2026

🕛 12:00 PM
📍 Sheila Piercey Studio, Fountain School of Performing Arts

An exploratory improvised performance and open discussion facilitated by Upstream’s Artistic Director Lukas Pearse, featuring five Open Waters Festival musicians who have never played together before. A rare opportunity to witness multiple approaches to creativity unfolding in real time.

Questions welcome. Listening required.

01/10/2026

Closing Open Waters with a premiere 🌌

Open Waters 2026 concludes with the premiere of Song for Omar by Michael Cloud Duguay - a work inspired by time spent in Hrisey, Iceland, and the polar stratospheric clouds that filled the sky above the island.

Arranged by Andrew MacKelvie and performed by members of Halifax-based ensemble Many Worlds, this performance brings the festival to a poetic and expansive close.

📅 January 11, 2026
⏰ 9:00-10:00 PM
📍 Joseph Strug Concert Hall

🎟 Tickets available online at upstream.simpletix.ca or at the door
🎫 Included with the purchase of an Open Waters Festival Pass

01/10/2026

A chamber opera inspired by the stars ✨

Caroline’s Sweeper follows 18th-century comet hunter Caroline Herschel as she makes groundbreaking astronomical discoveries - achievements long overshadowed by her brother’s fame. Through a series of intimate vignettes, the opera explores science, perseverance, and recognition.
Composed by Michael Donovan with a libretto by Monica Pearce, Caroline’s Sweeper brings Herschel’s story vividly to life.

📅 January 11, 2026
⏰ 7:30–8:30 PM
📍 Joseph Strug Concert Hall
🎟 Tickets available online at upstream.simpletix.ca or at the door
🎫 Included with the purchase of an Open Waters Festival Pass