This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Français (French)
The Stella Musica Festival, whose mission is to celebrate the work, talent, and diversity of women in music, is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. Driven by the assertion that women are still under-represented in the music world today, the festival challenges itself to explore new styles and approaches to music, while still featuring classical music prominently.
“As an artist, I have always felt that the industry could and should make more room for women,” says Katarzyna Musial, pianist and director of Stella Musica. “It was retired judge Anne-Marie Trahan, who passed away in 2019, who inspired me to create a festival for and by women. I owe her a lot.”
The 2025 edition of Stella Musica will open at Place des Arts’s Cinquième Salle with a concert featuring Innu soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais performing works by Cécile Chaminade, Charles Gounod, and Antonin Dvořák. Les Voix Boréales, a vocal ensemble of 75 young girls conducted by Philippe Ostiguy, will perform works by Inuit singer Elisapie, and Cree composer Sherryl Sewepagaham, as well as songs by Édith Piaf and Diane Dufresne.The concert will feature dance performances by Fuego Flamenco and 12-year-old Adeline Kerry Cruz. “The eclectic nature of this concert truly reflects Stella Musica. Both in terms of the performers’ style, and the repertoire, the concert will take the audience through a whole range of emotions,” says Musial.
The second concert, presented at Salle Claude-Léveillée, will invite audience members on an intimate journey; mezzo-soprano Justine Ledoux and pianist Martine Jomphe, both members of Opéra de Montréal’s Atelier Lyrique, will perform excerpts from Bizet’s Carmen and L’hiver attend beaucoup de moi, by Quebec composer Laurence Jobidon, among others. Musial herself will play works by Grażyna Bacewicz and Manuel de Falla. Finally, Duo Aster, which consists of saxophonist Clio Theodoridis and pianist Jonathan Nemtanu, will perform works ranging from jazz to classical, klezmer and Mediterranean.
“Each concert allows for exchange and intergenerational mentorship between artists, which is a great strength of our programming,” says Musial. Additional activities, including various roundtable discussions, will be added to the festival program in the near future.
Stella Musica will take place Oct. 17-26 at Place des Arts. www.stellamusica.org
Translation: Eva Stone-Barney
This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en:
Français (French)
