Friday Night Show
- New music, mentorship, & late-night listening
Orillia Opera House - Studio Theatre
Oct. 16, 2026 / 7pm show & 9pm party
​Join us as we kick off the 2026 Arts Orillia Jazz Festival with Orillia’s Youth under the mentorship of Alondra Vega, Jacob Thompson and Cole Mendez. Don’t miss the second act with Artist-In-Residence James Brown and performance companion, Clark Johnston. – And stick around for a killer Neo Noir after party, featuring a set by Nathanial Robertson and an open mic jam! Entry to the party after the 7pm show, or $10 cash at the door at 9pm.
Saturday Night Show
- Jane Bunnett and Maqueque
Orillia Opera House Gordon Lightfoot Theatre
Oct. 17th, 2026 / 7pm
A truly incredible night featuring five time JUNO award winner Jane Bunnett and powerhouse Maqueque, an all Cuban female band bending intricate Afro-cuban rhythms with contemporary Jazz. This one will have you dancing in your seat from the first notes with the help of special guest, Cuban Dancer Melissa Noventa.
Sunday Jazz Service
St. Paul's Church / Oct. 18th, 2026 / Music at 10:15am
In collaboration with St. Paul’s Music Director Dan McCoy, AO is bringing back the Sunday Jazz Service with Orillia’s own Jacob Thompson and Cole Mendez. Curated by the artists themselves, the service will also include an original composition from Orillia’s high school students!
Artist Bios
Alida Tomasini
Alida Tomasini is a jack of all trades, but her musical focus is on the Violin and Bass Guitar. She started learning piano with Music for Young Children at age seven. Since then, she has taken lessons for Electric Bass with Olivia Duck, Violin with Katrina Gilbert and Alex Andrews, and Double Bass with Alex Andrews. In elementary school she participated in band on the Electric Bass. Once she joined High School she played Double Bass in both the Junior and Jazz bands. Alida’s music has been especially influenced by Mariposa Folk Festival, which she has attended every year since birth. Alida would like to thank her parents and teachers for fostering her musical career, and is excited to see you at Arts Orillia’s 2026 Jazz festival!
Cassia Stoodley
Cassia Stoodley is a student of piano. She was enrolled at 88Keys Music and Discovery Centre at a young age and has since continued her musical journey with the school. She is currently taught by Dmitriy Varelas, which has allowed her to grow both technically and creatively. Cassia is now shifting towards playing jazz and the blues but stands by the philosophy that good music is good music, regardless of genre. Beyond that, she enjoys playing volleyball and taking trips to Stratford to watch performances each summer. Cassia would like to thank her parents for their continued support of her musical education. She is excited for the opportunity to take part in Arts Orillia’s 2026 Jazz Festival!
Nico Christie
Nico Christie is an aspiring musician, playing piano, trombone and guitar. Nico received piano lessons from Katerina Gilbert, starting at a young age, which has given him technical ability and theory but encouragement and inspiration as well. Other notable teachers are Ms. Bosco and Ms. Yeats, the music teachers at Twin Lakes, where Nico will graduate in the spring with ambitions of continuing his post secondary education in Jazz piano and Science. While Nico enjoys listening and playing all genres on piano he is particularly fond of Jazz and Blues, taking inspiration from Oscar Peterson, Bill Evens, and Ray Charles. Nico would like to thank his teacher Katerina, and his family for supporting his piano as well as putting up with his practicing. Nico is excited to play original songs for you tonight, particularly his very own Pancakes Blues.
Alondra Vega
Cuban-born Alondra Vega-Zaldivar is a passionate artist that has learned many skills by wearing many hats. Composer, opera-singer, producer, and teacher, she joined the Arts Orillia team thanks to the Metcalf Internship and is now Artistic Producer.
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Alondra is an associate composer of the Canadian Music Centre, as well as member of the Ontario Region Board, and part of the ACC committee. Her pieces have been performed across Canada, the United States and reaching as far as Croatia. She is currently working on a new family opera based on the legend of lake Simcoe’s ‘Kempenfelt Kelly.’
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Alondra teaches piano and vocals at Modern Music, and in her free time, she Music Directs for South Simcoe Theatre.
James Brown
James Brown is one of Canada’s most talented and versatile musicians. A guitarist, composer, and educator, he has released five acclaimed recordings of original music. By blending his extensive background in classical performance and composition with jazz, he has carved out a distinctive musical voice. He has performed with leading artists and ensembles such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Soundstreams Canada, and Canadian Stage. His large-scale work The Mosley Street Suite premiered at Koerner Hall in August 2021. His fifth studio album, Anthem For Everyone — featuring Aline Homzy, Hannah Barstow, and Clark Johnston — was released on NGP Records in July 2025 and marks his debut as a lyricist. His recordings have also featured notable collaborators including Don Thompson, Quinsin Nachoff, Jim Vivian, Anthony Michelli, Andrew Downing, John Obercian, and Ernie Tollar. His article, “The Grundgestalt Concept,” was published in the July 2023 issue of DownBeat magazine.
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In addition, James appears on two recent duo recordings with bassist Mike Milligan — Six Plus Four and This (Millimuse Records) — which include original compositions, arrangements, and explorations in free jazz. His 2022 release, Song Within the Story (NGP Records), features renowned tenor saxophonist Mike Murley and has received worldwide radio play and critical acclaim.
Clark Johnston
Clark Johnston started his professional career as a bassist in 1995 and has since performed with the Shuffle Demons, Diana Panton, Mike Murley, Reg Schwager, Don Thompson, the Mike Malone Jazz Orchestra, Peter Appleyard, Queen Pepper, Attila Fias, and works regularly with Alison Young and Neil Brathwaite.
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Clark has released three CDs with Shields Johnston Fielding featuring his original compositions and can be heard on many other people's recordings. He holds a master's degree in Music Composition as well as a Bachelor of Education from York University. Clark is currently on faculty at McMaster University and Hillfield Strathallan College.
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Clark appears on James Brown's last two recordings; Song Within The Story (2022) and Anthem For Everyone (2025).
Jane Bunnett
Five-time Juno Award winner, Jane Bunnett has turned her bands and recordings into showcases for the finest musical talent from Canada, the US, and Cuba. She has been nominated for three Grammy Awards, received The Order of Canada, The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, and, most recently, The Premier’s Award for Excellence.
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An internationally acclaimed musician, Bunnett is known for her creative integrity, improvisational daring, and courageous artistry. Her exploration of Afro-Cuban melodies expresses the universality of music, and her ability to embrace and showcase the rhythms and culture of Cuba has been ground-breaking. She has toured the world bringing her own special sound to numerous jazz festivals, displaying her versatility as a flutist, saxophone player, and pianist.
Maqueque
Founded in 2014, Maqueue has since been recognized for two Grammy nominations, been featured on NPR’s Jazz Night in America, and voted a top-ten jazz group by the critics’ poll of DownBeat magazine. Most recently, the group held a residency at Birdland Jazz Club in New York.
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The forming of Maqueque was in response to a longstanding disparity experienced by Bunnett wherein she’d mostly collaborated with men, especially instrumentalists. And in Cuba, opportunities for female talent were even more sparse (though about 70 percent of the students at Cuba’s musical conservatories are women). Bunnett paired up with world-renowned Cuban singer and founding Maqueque member, Daymé Arocena, to scout the country for other outstanding young female musicians. The result became an evolving group of early-career to more established players, who took the stage together under a name provided by Arocena’s grandmother, Maqueque, which translates in the Afro-Cuban language Lucumí to the “fiery energy spirit of a little girl.”
Melissa Noventa
Melissa Noventa (she/her) is a dance artist, educator, and cultural researcher (PhD Candidate, Cultural Studies, Queen’s University) based in Kingston and Toronto.
Dancing since the age of 4, her dance practice moves across a wide range of forms, with a deep focus on Cuban folkloric and popular traditions. This foundation places her art at the intersection of movement, research, and community, shaping a practice that connects embodied learning with lived cultural exchange. Her work is guided by how movement carries memory, builds cross-cultural connection, and circulates through communities across place and time.
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Her work travels between studios and stages across North America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. She has performed with Cuba’s Raíces Profundas, stepped into shared stages with Los Van Van and Alexander Abreu, worked with NYU Tisch, appeared at Scotiabank Arena for a Toronto Raptors halftime show, travelled to Nigeria to dance Afro-Soca with Team Canada, performed alongside Grammy award winning band Arcade Fire. Most recently, she toured internationally with Obeah Opera in South Africa and Barbados.
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Offstage, Melissa actively brings dance to community spaces, including guest teaching in local highschools, and through her classes of AfroSalsa, Femme Flow, and Rooted—grounded in rhythm, shared practice, and embodied learning.​
Cole Mendez
Cole Mendez is a Muskoka-based keyboardist with more than 15 years of professional performance experience. As a founding member of The Free Label, he has performed original music on major festival and concert stages worldwide. His playing draws on jazz, soul, and contemporary music, with a strong improvisational voice and compelling live presence.
Jacob Thompson
Jacob Thompson is a jazz pianist, keyboardist and keytarist based in Toronto.
He plays with The Free Label, and leads his own trio and quartet.
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He’s opened for T-Pain, Mono Neon, and Seamus Blake, and performed with Jerry Bergonzi, Mike Murley, Diego Figuredo, Norma Winstone, Ralph Alessi and Dave Liebman.