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HONENS FESTIVAL
Sept. 5-8—Calgary
Honens kicks off its annual festival on Sept. 5 at the CF Chinook Centre, with guest Illia Ovcharenko, winner of the 2022 Honens triennial competition, joined by Alberta piano virtuosos Carmen Morin and Zhenni Li-Cohen. The festival’s programming focuses on accessibility, with free, adaptive concerts for families and neurodivergent people. On Sept. 6, just after Ovcharenko’s recital of Beethoven’s 7th Symphony, the WindSync wind quintet will celebrate the centenary of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, in a mixture of jazz, blues and contemporary music, arranged for piano and wind quintet by Reinhard Gutschy. www.honens.com
SPHERE
Sept. 10- 20—Ottawa-Gatineau
Under the theme Symphony of the Earth, SPHERE 2024 explores the motif of waterways with Aboriginal, French and English theatre, dance, concerts, lectures and installations at the crossroads of art, science and ethics. The program also includes a number of family activities. The NAC Orchestra will accompany most performances and concerts, with special guests Jeremy Dutcher, Renée Fleming and Christine Beaulieu. www.nac-cna.ca
Alto/Fest
Sept. 13-14—Montreal
Alto/Fest returns for a second year at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. The program will include four concerts featuring both essential works for viola and new works, with a contemporary, multidisciplinary approach. The interactive concerts and experimental concepts will feature artists Marina Thibeault, Frédéric Lambert, Chloé Dumoulin, Sebastian Gonzalez Mora and Vincent Delorme. Ticket information available on the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal website. www.alto-fest.com
Culture Days
Sept. 27- 29—Across Canada’s Francophonie
During the Journées de la culture, Canadian arts are celebrated with thousands of free participatory events across the country. This year, students from across Quebec and French-speaking Canada will kick off the 28th Journées de la culture by performing an original composition proposed by Alfa Rococo and the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Rafael Payare. Schools can register at www.culturedays.ca
Indigenous culture
Sept. 28-29—Sorel-Tracy
In Sorel-Tracy this time, the fall program includes two days dedicated to Indigenous culture at the Maison de la Musique. On Sept. 28, Wendat-born musician Sandrine Masse, who trained at UdeM in viola performance, will perform as a guest of renowned guitarist, composer and teacher Alexandre Éthier in the evening show Là où la terre est! The singer-songwriter who performs around the world as a violist, chorister and singer-songwriter, will take part in the show in voice and guitar mode.
Another guest of Alexandre Éthier, Atikamekw painter, sculptor, storyteller, actor and singer Jacques Newashish, originally from La Tuque, will narrate the show Conte et Légende in the afternoon of Sept. 29. www.maisondelamusique.org
L’OFF Festival de Jazz de Montréal
Oct. 3-12—Montreal
For the 25th year, the OFF Festival de Jazz de Montréal presents local jazz talent, from regulars on the Montreal scene to new talents and musicians from across the province. Some 30 concerts will be held in various downtown venues over 10 evenings. www.lofffestivaldejazz.com
Grand organ Festival / CIOC
Oct. 13-27—Montreal
The Grand Festival d’orgue d’octobre will present more than a dozen activities at venues across the metropolis, including concerts by renowned organists Olivier Latry, Bernard Foccroulle and Isabelle Demers, educational workshops, guided tours and master classes. The Gala Concert on Oct. 27 will feature the three CIOC prize winners at Lachine’s Saints-Anges Church.
This autumn, the Canadian International Organ Competition will welcome 11 talented young organists from seven different countries to the organ capital, where they will perform in churches renowned for their instruments, for the chance to win prizes totalling more than $100,000. www.ciocm.org
Akousma 20
Oct. 16-18—Montreal
In its 20th year, the Akousma Festival continues its exploration of all forms of digital music, reflecting the concerns of today’s composers and the growing diversity of their interventions in a musical world of increasingly disparate practices. Akousma 20 will feature an array of artists, including Li, Westbrook, Warnecke, Dall’Ara-Majek, Schorpp, Janelle, Jean, Ristic, Vaggione, Roux, Turner, Kantonen, Berger, Racine, Alary and Ledesma.
The Électrochoc concert series, directed by composition professors Martin Bédard and Louis Dufort, features “dialogue concerts” showcasing the many facets of electroacoustic music and the talent of composition students at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal. www.akousma.ca
Les Violons d’automne
Oct. 18-20—Saint-Jean-Port-Joli
Saint-Jean-Port-Joli welcomes Les Violons d’automne for a musical excursion to the four corners of the globe. The event will celebrate the traditions associated with the violin, the instrument’s vast repertoire of music from all styles and eras, and the brilliance of its instrumentalists. www.violons-automne.com
Les Reverdies de Montréal
Oct. 18-21—Montreal
The 10th edition of Reverdies Montréal’s Journées médiévales will celebrate Italian music of the 14th century. The theme Ballate e Danze will bring together composers such as Bologna, Landini and Caserta in concerts by the Italian ensemble La Fonte Musica, Reverdies Montréal and Comtessa. Participatory workshops, master classes and a banquet are also on the program.
www.reverdiesmontreal.org
Montreal Bach Festival
Nov. 16-Dec. 8—Montreal (one date in Quebec City: Nov. 22)
Every year in November and December, the Montreal Bach Festival presents a dozen concerts, a choir night (now in its 10th year) and concerts for children. The opening concert features the Mass in B minor at the Palais Moncalm on Nov. 22, and the following day at the Maison symphonique, conducted by Leonardo García Alarcón. Several organ concerts will be held at St. Joseph’s Oratory Basilica, including the grand inauguration of the new site and restored carillon. The closing Gala Bach concert on Dec. 8 will feature cantatas reminiscent of the Christmas Oratorio at Notre-Dame Basilica.
While the Off-Bach program has yet to be revealed, we expect an abundance of mini-concerts, impromptu performances by Festival artists, public rehearsals and discussions, from Nov. 26 to Dec. 3. All free of charge. www.festivalbachmontreal.com
Translation by Eva Stone-Barney
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