American singer Colbie Caillat once said, “A great song should lift your heart, warm the soul and make you feel good.”
Given the frigid weather we’ve been experiencing in Saskatoon lately, all of us could use something to warm our souls and to lift our spirits. My prescription? A dose of music therapy, to be given at one of our city’s upcoming concerts.
Here are just a few suggestions for some feel-good shows. Enjoy!

JAN. 24 TANYA TAGAQ
Acclaimed Inuk throat singer Tanya Tagaq is coming to Saskatoon as part of the annual Winterruption festival, which runs from Jan. 23-26 and features a stellar lineup of acts, including David Braid, Royal Wood, Hawksley Workman, Begonia and many more.
In addition to being a member of the Order of Canada, a Polaris Music Prize and JUNO Award winner and the recipient of multiple honorary doctorates, Tagaq is also a respected author; her debut novel, Split Tooth, was longlisted for the Giller Prize. Soon to be released is Tagaq’s five-track soundscape, Toothsayer, coming out on March 1 as a digital EP via Six Shooter Records.
“I named this Toothsayer because I always liked the term soothsayer, to look into the future and to speak wisely,” Tagaq has said of the title. “Teeth represent protection and hunting in nature. We are going to have to get our fists up and our teeth out to carve our way to survival in this world.”
On Jan. 24 at 7:30 p.m. at Persephone Theatre, Tagaq will stage a program that includes a Q&A and a reading from Split Tooth, followed by a musical performance with a full band. After she comes to Saskatoon, she will embark on tour taking her to Ontario, Alberta, the U.S., the U.K. and Norway. To purchase tickets to the Saskatoon show, go online to winterruptionsk.ca.

JAN. 26 RAVEL AND JAZZ
A hometown piano hero is returning to our city to make his solo debut with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra (SSO) this weekend.
Godwin Friesen, who is just 20 years old, is a rising star on the Canadian classical music scene, winning the Saskatchewan Music Festivals Association’s Shurniak Concerto Competition in 2017 and being named one of the 30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30 by CBC Music that the same year. Originally from Saskatoon, Friesen is currently studying at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto.
“I’m really excited about coming home for this show because it’s a crowd full of people who know me or know of me,” he said in an SSO news release. “There’s something really freeing about knowing all these people are behind me.”
Friesen will take to the stage at TCU Place for a concert titled Ravel and Jazz, featuring Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G Major. Also to be included in the first half of the concert program is Darius Milhaud’s jazz-infused piece about the creation of the world, La Création du monde. Following intermission, the SSO will perform two Canadian pieces: Glenn Buhr’s Winter Poems and Malcolm Forsyth’s Atayoskewin.
Gordon Gerrard, the Regina Symphony Orchestra’s music director, will make his SSO debut as conductor.
The concert will start at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 26. Tickets range from $34 to $73 and can be purchased online at saskatoonsymphony.org.

JAN. 31 ENSEMBLE MADE IN CANADA
The Lyell Gustin 15th anniversary recital series is presenting Ensemble Made in Canada, a piano quartet touring from coast to coast that will perform 14 newly-commissioned works that celebrate our nation’s diversity.
The ensemble’s Mosaïque Project invites audience members to create informal art as they listen, and features a website that will display art from all of Canada’s provinces and territories. Repertoire for the project was created by 14 Canadian composers, with each work inspired by a specific province, territory or region.
The Mosaïque Project in Saskatoon will open with a work by Saskatoon-born William Rowson, who is now the assistant conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Ensemble Made in Canada includes a pianist, a violinist, a violist and a cellist. The group has appeared at major festivals and has been the ensemble-in-residence at Western University since 2014.
The Ensemble Made in Canada performance will be held on Jan. 31 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, located at 436 Spadina Cres. East. Tickets are $40 or $30 for students, and can be purchased at the door or from McNally Robinson, Saskatoon Academy of Music or the Gustin House Committee. Children 12 and under get in for free when accompanied by an adult. A pre-concert talk will be held at 6:45 p.m.