2026 PROGRAM
2026 Edition
The Grand Baroque
50 Bold and Wonderful Years
It’s time to celebrate at the Lamèque International Baroque Musical Festival! For our 50th anniversary, we’re pulling out all the stops with an edition that pays homage to the Festival and its history, the Acadian arts scene, and some of the greatest composers of the Baroque era, whose music has been ringing out on the islands of Lamèque and Miscou for the past half century.
Tickets will be on sale from April 15, 2026.
Acadian Elements
Early and Acadian works inspired by the four elements, performed by the New Brunswicker singers of the Mission Saint Charles Choir, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2026. 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 and arrangements of Acadian songs by Jean-François Mallet.
Acis & Galatea
New for Lamèque, this performance will present a concert version of an opera! Four vocal soloists portray the love story of Acis and Galatea with musical accompaniment from the Arion Baroque Orchestra, conducted by harpsichordist Hank Knox. A concert to pay homage to the melodic genius of the great composer George Frideric Handel.
Wind at Play
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 : Spectacular Handel
The dress rehearsal for the final concert, dedicated to the great works of George Frideric Handel, open to the public. It’s an excellent opportunity to learn more about the music of this great composer and see the artists at work.
Bach & Handel: Voice and Organ
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 works by Bach and Handel, two of the greatest masters of Baroque repertoire. This event will also showcase the magnificent organ of the Saint-Jérôme church through the performance of cantatas and concertos written for the instrument.
Bach: Sonatas for Flute and Harpsichord
This voyage through time offers audience members the chance 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 will be performed by two French artists at the height of their art: Jocelyn Daubigney and Bertrand Cuiller.
Favorites
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!
Spectacular Handel SOLD OUT
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!
