Fall Highlights: Choral Previews

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Quebec

Ensemble ArtChoral

Titled A Viennese Evening: Songs, Waltzes, and Romance, and directed by Matthias Maute, the group will perform works by Strauss and Schubert, alongside excerpts of Brahms’s Liebeslieder, Op. 52 and 65 (Sept. 8).

www.placedesarts.com/en/producer/ensemble-vocal-arts-québec

OSM Chorus

Led by conductor Andrew Megill, the OSM Chorus will join the orchestra for several exciting performances this season. The OSM’s 90th season kicks off for the Chorus with Stravinsky’s bombastic The Rite of Spring, conducted by Rafael Payare (Sept. 12-14). Under the baton of Gemma New, the choir will sing as part of September performances of Holst’s The Planets (Sept. 27, 28, Oct. 1). Hervé Niquet will then conduct the choir, along with soloists Cyrille Dubois (tenor), Julie Boulianne (mezzo-soprano), Gordon Bintner (baritone), Robert Gleadow (bass-baritone) and Tomislav Lavoie (bass) in Berlioz’s L’enfance du Christ (Dec. 19). In the spring, the choir will take part in performances of J.S. Bach’s inimitable St John Passion, conducted by Bach specialist Masaaki Suzuki (March 27, 28). Finally, to close off their year, former OSM conductor Kent Nagano will lead presentations of Beethoven’s “Eroica” Symphony No. 3 (April 10, 11). www.osm.ca

Choeur OPCM

The Orchestre Philharmonique & Choeur des Mélomanes has asserted itself on the Montreal choral scene over the last few years, with high-calibre performances of audience favourites. This year is no exception, as the choir prepares to present three concerts at Montreal’s Maison symphonique. They will start off the year by taking on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, paired with choral works by Brahms, and orchestral pieces by Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (Nov. 4). In the new year, the OPCM will return with a concert version of Bizet’s Carmen, featuring Wallis Giunta in the titular role, alongside Adrian Kramer as Don José, Hugo Laporte as Escamillo, and Myriam Leblanc singing Micaëla (Feb. 24, 25). Finally, their season will conclude with two presentations of the beloved Fauré Requiem, programmed with the world première of a new Requiem composed by François Dompierre (June 8). www.opcmelomanes.ca/

La Chapelle du Québec,
Choeur de Chambre

La Chapelle du Québec, Les Violons du Roy’s in-house chamber choir, will be making several appearances alongside the orchestra this season. Jonathan Cohen will lead the choir, orchestra, and soloists Iestyn Davies (countertenor), Myriam Leblanc (soprano), Sam Boden (tenor), and Michael Sumuel (bass-baritone), for holiday performances of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in Quebec City (Dec. 14, 15) and Montreal (Dec. 16). Come wintertime, conductor Bernard Labadie will take the podium in performances of the Fauré and Duruflé Requiems, first in Quebec City (Feb. 14, 15), and then in Montreal (Feb. 18). Soprano Magali Simard-Galdès, mezzo-soprano Julie Boulianne, and baritone Jean-François Lapointe will join in on the fun as soloists. www.violonsduroy.com

Choeur Saint Laurent

This year will mark the 52nd season for Montreal’s St. Lawrence Choir, and conductor/artistic director Philippe Bourque’s 10th season as part of the organization. They will open their season by marking Remembrance Day with a performance of works by Bach, Barber, Britten, and Bruckner. Titled Chants d’honneur, the concert will take place at Sainte-Geneviève Church in Pierrefonds, Que. (Nov. 11). In a change of pace, the choir will then invite audiences to join them for a singalong presentation of Handel’s beloved Messiah, at Westmount Baptist Church (Dec. 13). Accompanied by pianist Louise Pelletier, the choir will interpret works by Debussy, Fauré, and Schumann on their third program of the year, Sous la voûte étoilée, at the Saint-Édouard church in Rosemont-Petite Patrie (Feb. 10). www.choeur.qc.ca

Ontario

Toronto Mendelssohn Choir

The Toronto Mendelssohn Choir has an ambitious year ahead of it with the 2023-24 season, titled Hear the Passion. To kick things off, the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, the choir’s professional chamber ensemble, will join conductor Jean-Sébastien Vallée and the Compagnie de la Citadelle in a performance titled In Time: At the Intersection of Music & Dance. On the program are Handel’s Dixit Dominus and Bach’s Christ lag in Todesbanden (Sept. 22, 23). They will then take the stage at Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, with baritone Geoffrey Sirett, soprano Lesley Emma Bouza, countertenor Ryan McDonald, the Toronto Children’s Chorus, and members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, for performances of Carl Orff’s thrilling masterwork, Carmina Burana (Oct. 26, 27). The choir will close 2023 with its annual holiday event, the Festival of Carols, accompanied by organist Jonathan Oldengarm (Dec. 5, 6). In spring, the Toronto Mendelssohn Singers, baritone Brett Polegato and Juno Award-winning pianist Philip Chiu will join forces to present a new choral adaptation of Franz Schubert’s Winterreise (March 16). www.tmchoir.org

Amadeus Choir

This is an especially exciting year for Toronto’s Amadeus Choir, as they are celebrating their 50th anniversary. They will open up their 2023-24 season with a unique Halloween event, as the choir takes on Juno-nominated jazz-composer Andrew Downing’s scoring of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu. Joined by a nine-piece jazz ensemble, the musical performance will be complete with a simultaneous screening of the film itself (Oct 20). The choir will celebrate the holiday season in collaboration with the Hannaford Street Silver Band, which will join them for a program titled Silver and Gold (Dec. 16). Come springtime, celebrations of their 50th anniversary season will resonate throughout the George Weston Recital Hall as they are joined by soprano Midori Marsh, tenor Andrew Haji, and baritone Tyler Duncan, along with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra for what is sure to be a memorable performance of Haydn’s Creation, sung in English (May 15). www.amadeuschoir.com