UPEI Department of Music Contemporary Music Festival—Archipelagic Voices: Contemporary Music by Southeast Asian Composers

The UPEI Department of Music is hosting its first Contemporary Music Festival, which will take place on campus from March 6–13, on the SDU Stage at Steel Recital Hall and the Performing Arts Centre Theatre.

The festival will feature UPEI Music faculty in performance as well as several guest artists, including pianist Megaria Halim, Indigenous cellist and composer Cris Derksen, experimental jazz trio Forgalhorn, and internationally renowned French contemporary music ensemble Proxima Centauri. Performances will introduce multiple world premieres, including a commissioned work for saxophones composed by JUNO Award-nominated composer Amy Brandon. Brandon, who grew up on PEI, will give a public talk on her work; masterclasses, workshops, and talks will also be offered by Cris Derksen and members of Proxima Centauri.

The festival schedule includes Megaria Halim performing on piano in Archipelagic Voices: Contemporary Music by Southeast Asian Composers on March 6 at 7:30 pm.

Pianist Megaria Halim presents Archipelagic Voices, exploring the sound worlds of contemporary composers from Southeast Asia, drawing on folk traditions, mythology, and distinctive sonic landscapes. Through a range of modern works, the program highlights how these composers reimagine cultural memory, timbre, and gesture within contemporary musical language.