Quasar’s upcoming Winnipeg concert on March 5 promises to be a cutting-edge experience featuring audio-visual and surround-sound works composed expressly for the quartet. These include recent works by Bekah Simms (Canada/Scotland), Örjan Sandred (Sweden/Canada), and Egidija Medekšaitė (Lithuania), as well as world premiere performances of new commissions by Gordon Fitzell (Canada) and GroundSwell’s 2025 National Emerging Composers Competition winner Takuto Fukuda (Japan/Canada).

Quasar is deeply committed to mentoring younger artists. Members of the group, alongside award-winning Canadian composer Vincent Ho, recently served as jurors for GroundSwell’s National Emerging Composers Competition. While in Winnipeg,

Quasar will also serve as resident ensemble for the world premiere performance of a newly commissioned work by competition winner Takuto Fukuda (Japan/Canada). This work will be performed on two occasions: On March 4 at a midday concert at the University of Manitoba Desautels Faculty of Music and on March 5 at the evening concert at the Winnipeg Arty Gallery. In addition, Quasar will offer saxophone and contemporary music masterclasses at the University of Manitoba, including a reading session of new works written for expressly for them by current students of the Composition Program.