NEWS
News Release - Launch of the 2026 Program
“The Grand Baroque - 50 Bold and Wonderful Years”: 50th Season of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival
Lamèque, N.-B., Tuesday, April 14, 2026: The Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival is proud to present the program for its 50th season. The program for this anniversary edition includes eight concerts and events inviting music lovers to discover new music, relive the greatest moments of the Festival, and share their love of music with artists and members of the audience. All the concert details are available on the Festival website: www.festivalbaroque.com
“THE GRAND BAROQUE”
From July 30 to August 1, 2026, music lovers are invited to a large-scale event, three days of festivities paying tribute to the Festival and its history, to Acadian art and to the works of the greatest composers of the Baroque era.
EVENING CONCERTS
These concerts will feature works by two of the greatest composers of the Baroque era:
George Frideric Handel and Johann Sebastian Bach.
“Acis & Galatea”
Thursday, July 30, 7:30 p.m., Sainte-Cécile Church, Petite-Rivière-de-l’Île
Presented by UNI Coopération financière
New for Lamèque, this performance will present a concert version of an opera! The love story of Acis and Galatea will be portrayed by four incredible soloists: soprano Hélène Brunet, tenors Philippe Gagné and Kerry Bursey, and Acadian bass-baritone Dion Mazerolle. Alongside the Arion Baroque Orchestra and conductor Hank Knox, they will present a concert paying homage to the melodic genius of the great composer George Frideric Handel.
“Bach & Handel: Voice and Organ”
Friday, July 31, 7:30 p.m., Saint-Jérôme Church, Shippagan
Presented by Paroisse Saint-Jérôme and Clubs Richelieu (Shippagan and Lamèque).
A concert starring Nicholas Burns, winner of the 2025 Mathieu Duguay Early Music Competition, and the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal’s organist in residence, Jean-Willy Kunz. Alongside the musicians of Ensemble Pallade Musica, they will perform cantatas, oratorio arias, and concertos by Bach and Handel.
“Spectacular Handel”
Saturday, August 1, 7:30 p.m., Sainte-Cécile Church, Petite-Rivière-de-l’Île
A large orchestra with drums and trumpets joins forces with a dazzling choir for an uplifting finale performed by the Arion Baroque Orchestra and the Mission Saint-Charles Choir. George Frideric Handel’s Water Music and Coronation Anthems, performed by more than 50 artists on stage, promise a breathtaking finale!
TWO EVENTS CELEBRATING THE FESTIVAL'S LONG HISTORY
The daytime concerts on Saturday, August 1st promise a journey through time, a return to the roots of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival.
“Bach: Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord”
Saturday, August 1, 11:00 a.m., Sainte-Cécile Church, Petite-Rivière-de-l’Île
The perfect occasion to relive the first concert ever presented as part of the Festival, in July 1976. The great Johann Sebastian Bach’s sonatas for flute and harpsichord, once performed by flautist François Codère and harpsichordist Mathieu Duguay, are here played by two French artists at the height of their art: Jocelyn Daubigney and Bertrand Cuiller.
“Favorites”
Saturday, August 1, 2:30 p.m., Sainte-Cécile Church, Petite-Rivière-de-l’Île
Presented by Île-de-Lamèque
Harpsichordist Bertrand Cuiller performs a solo recital presenting some of Mathieu Duguay’s favourite works from the baroque repertoire. An homage to this great man whose bold visionary spirit led to the creation of an exceptional event that has made Baroque music a cultural touchstone of the islands of the Acadian Peninsula for the last 50 years!
THE MISSION SAINT-CHARLES CHOIR IN THE SPOTLIGHT
The Mission Saint-Charles Choir was founded 40 years ago by Mathieu Duguay and will present the Festival's opening concert.
“Acadian Elements”
Thursday, July 30, 2:30 p.m., Saint-Raphaël Churcj, Sainte-Marie-Saint-Raphaël
Presented by Huîtres Mallet
Early and Acadian works inspired by the four elements, performed by the New Brunswicker singers of the Mission Saint Charles Choir. This event showcasing French and Acadian artists will kick off the festivities in style!
The program will include French Baroque and Renaissance works, as well as original pieces by local composer Frédéric Chiasson – included the premiere of a work on a poem by Raymond Guy Leblanc - and arrangements of Acadian songs by Jean-François Mallet.
AN INTIMATE CONCERT AT THE CHURCH OF MISCOU
Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue Church is renowned for its exceptional acoustics. True to form, the Festival is proud to present an intimate morning concert there.
“Wind at Play”
Friday, July 31, 11:00 a.m., Saint-Antoine-de-Padoue Church, Miscou
Bassoonist Mathieu Lussier and recorder player Vincent Lauzer, the two most recent artistic directors of the Festival, come together to perform the music of Boismortier, Telemann and Vivaldi. A refreshing late-morning concert in a charming little church, the perfect opportunity for music lovers to enjoy a more intimate performance.
PUBLIC DRESS REHEARSAL
In addition to these seven concerts, the Festival invites audience members to attend the dress rehearsal of the final concert, "Grandiose Handel."
This event, which will take place on Friday, July 31, at 2 p.m., is a great opportunity to demystify the work of the artists and to learn more about the works on the program.
A VISUAL SIGNATURE BY YVON GALLANT
The Festival team was pleased to present the visual signature for the 2026 season. It is a work by Yvon Gallant, painter born in Moncton and well-known on New-Brunswick artistic scene. During his career, he has presented his works in over a hundred solo and group exhibitions in the Atlantic region, across Canada, and internationally. He is a grant recipient of the New Brunswick Arts Board and the Canada Council for the Arts and has received several awards, including the Miller-Britain Award in 1972 and the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick’s Award of Excellence in Visual Arts in 2011. He was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts of Canada in 2005. Yvon Gallant was awarded the Éloizes Artist of the Year Award in visual arts in 2021 for his exhibition “Portraits”.
The artwork used as the visual signature depicts a crowd gathered in front of Sainte-Cécile Church, reflecting the festive and unifying spirit of the Lamèque International Baroque Music Festival. Fifty reproductions of the artwork are available for purchase at $165 each.
For all the details about the program, visit the website at www.festivalbaroque.com. Tickets will be for sale on Wednesday, April 15. Packages to attend all concerts as well as packages with accommodation are offered in limited quantities.