Consortium Aurora Borealis is delighted to present Thunder Bay’s Tamarack Wind Quintet in Concert. They will enchant with an intriguing and appealing programme of music in varied styles and moods, showing off the great diversity of timbre of their instruments. The musicians, section wind players of the TBSO, are enthusiastic professionals who enjoy performing together. They’ll win our hearts as they produce richly colourful and dynamic sounds, introducing us to some worthy composers we haven’t encountered before, and opening up a new realm of the wind repertoire. Performing are Heather Kilborn, flute; E-Chen Hsu, clarinet; Gwen Buttemer, oboe; Aviner Hardwick, bassoon, and Damian Rivers-Moore, horn. Consortium is pleased to offer them an outlet beyond their orchestral responsibilities, providing an opportunity for them to play for a warm, appreciative audience.

Consortium Aurora Borealis greets the New Year in style on January 10 with a concert of sublime Classic and Romantic String Quintets. Thrill to the rich sound of two violas in the inner voices. We introduce you to some absolutely gorgeous chamber music for strings, as we present two mature viola quintets written 103 years apart by Mozart and Brahms. We also bring to light an appealing quintet by a less-known composer, written just two years after Mozart’s. All three men were German speakers.

In 2025 Consortium Aurora Borealis and the rest of the musical world mark the 275th anniversary of the death of Johann Sebastian Bach. This towering figure of the Baroque surpassed all others during this period, and was venerated throughout history as one of the greatest composers of all time. Composer Richard Wagner called Bach “the most stupendous miracle in all music!”