Setting the stage

The first time Ivan Chernenko stepped onto the stage of the Desautels Concert Hall, he felt the difference immediately.

A fourth-year jazz studies student in the Desautels Faculty of Music, Chernenko had performed in other venues before. But this was different. The hall was new, professional and, as he describes it, “a bit magical.”

“Performing in the concert hall gave me the chance to experience what it’s like to play big shows for a big audience in a big venue,” Chernenko says.

That experience is now part of daily life for music students at UM.

The 407-seat Desautels Concert Hall opened in September 2024, giving students, faculty, visiting artists and community performers access to a state-of-the-art venue in the heart of UM’s Fort Garry campus. With superior acoustics, optimal sightlines and a configurable stage, the hall was built to support everything from jazz ensembles and chamber music to opera, theatre, dance and major university events.

For years, music students were developing their craft without a performance venue that matched the scale of their training or ambition. Donor support helped change that. The late Marcel Desautels [BA (LatPh)/55, LLB/59, LLM/65, LLD (Hon)/99] made a $20 million gift to the Faculty of Music in 2008, with $10 million designated specifically for a new concert hall. Gail Asper [BA/81, LLB/84, LLD/2008] and Michael Nesbitt [BA/57, BComm/56, LLD/15] later each gave $2.5 million to help make the project possible.

“The opportunity to help build a world class hall devoted to music was a unique opportunity and having it located at my university was hard to ignore,” Nesbitt says. “The learning experiences that students will benefit from over many years is important to me, not to mention the enjoyment the public will have in this acoustic splendid concert hall.”

“Winnipeg is renowned for punching above its weight in the performing arts. This is a state-of-the-art facility, and the community has raced to embrace it,” Asper says. “Manitobans travel around the world, see the best facilities and the best artists, and come back and ask, ‘Why don’t we have that here?’ And this is the answer: we do.”

For students like Chernenko, the impact of that investment is already being felt on stage and in the classroom.

Chernenko came to UM from Ukraine to study jazz saxophone, drawn by the chance to learn from world-renowned saxophonist and professor Jon Gordon.

Since arriving, he says the faculty has given him the kind of intensive study and musical community he hoped to find.

“The professors have so much knowledge to share. Each term, I notice so much growth,” Chernenko says.

The concert hall adds another kind of growth. It gives students the chance to perform in front of larger audiences, work in a professional setting and learn from the artists who come through the space.

“You have to act like a professional. You have to play like a professional,” Chernenko says. “The concert hall gives you a great opportunity to do both.”