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Your Brain on Music:
Montreal Neurological Institute
The Neuro, as it is commonly called, is hosting Your Brain on Music as part of their Amazing Brain Week (Oct. 13-19). Leading neuroscientists Robert Zatorre and Simone Dalla Bella will join musicians from the Montreal Symphony Orchestra for an event that combines performance and conversation, exploring music’s impact on the brain. Michel Rochon, scientific journalist and author, will host a conversation on topics ranging from our emotional responses to music, the impact of musical activities on brain plasticity, and the human perception of rhythm (Oct. 16). www.amazingbrainweek.ca
Les jours heureux
After a successful screening at the Toronto International Film Festival last month, Les jours heureux will have its Montreal première at the Théâtre Maisonneuve (Oct. 16). Directed by Chloé Robichaud, and produced by Pierre Even, the film tells the story of a young Montreal conductor (Emma) and her complicated relationship with her father and agent (Patrick). The film stars Sophie Desmarais, Sylvain Marcel, Nour Belkhiria, and Maude Guérin, and features the Orchestre Métropolitain, conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin. www.placedesarts.com
Tangologie
This evening of Argentine tango offers a unique combination of music and dance, celebrating the popular art form. Dancers and musicians will take the stage at the Théâtre Maisonneuve for this performance, produced by TL Productions (Oct. 20). www.placedesarts.com
Voces Boreales: 50 Shades of Gray
Coming up this month, Montreal’s professional chamber choir will present an evening of choral music that challenges the traditional concert expectations, instead veering toward the casual. Audience members will be seated around cocktail and lounge tables at Salon 1861. The curiously titled concert, which falls on the 50th birthday of conductor Andrew Gray, will include a wide variety of choral selections—ranging from Monteverdi, to Grieg, to Whitacre—all of which explore the ecstatic and the sensual. The choir will première two new Canadian works, one of which (by Rebecca Gray) has been commissioned specifically for the occasion (Oct. 21).
www.vocesboreales.org
Andrew Wan and the OSM
This fall, concertmaster Andrew Wan will step into the spotlight with the OSM and conductor Rafael Payare to perform Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in D major, Op.61. Also on the program are works by other canonical Viennese composers: Bach’s The Musical Offering, BWV 1079, “Ricercar a 6;” arranged by Webern; Mozart’s Symphony No. 35 in D major, K. 385, “Haffner;” and Webern’s Passacaglia, Op. 1. (Oct. 25-26) www.osm.ca
Sortilegio
Montreal audiences have a real treat in store at the end of the month, when Sortilegio takes the stage. Set in a faraway city named Cérulée, the opera tells the story of a 200-year-old power-hungry vampire who has been unleashed on the townspeople, who must find a way to neutralize her powers before it’s too late. A combination of operatic favourites and newly-composed music by Elizabeth Raum and Giancarlo Scalia, the production is directed by Vivianne Delorme, and conducted by Sonia Ben-Santamaria. Sortilegio will take the stage at Salle Pierre-Mercure (Oct. 28).
www.sortilegio.ca
Hamburger and Rachmaninoff
Conducted by Francis Choinière, the Ensemble Classico-Moderne will perform Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No.2, with soloist Jean-Philippe Sylvestre. Also on the program are excerpts of Jaap Nico Hamburger’s opera, Ariella, which will be premièred in this concert version. Starring Aline Kutan, Myriam Leblanc, Eric Laporte, and Enzo Sabbagha, the opera, with libretto by Thomas Beijer, tells the story of a family recovering in the wake of the death of their matriarch. Ariella, sung by Leblanc, finds maturity as she grieves the loss of her mother (Kutan) (Oct. 28). www.filmharmonique.ca
Opéra Bouffe du Québec
Coming up, the Opéra Bouffe du Québec will perform La Périchole by Jacques Offenbach. Conducted by Simon Fournier, and directed by Alain Zouvi, the production will star Rosalie Lane Lépine in the titular role, alongside Thomas Vinals, Geoffroy Salvas, Alexandre Iannuzzi and Éric Thériault (Oct. 28-Nov.5). www.operabouffe.org
One Thousand
and One Drums
Conducted by Elim Chan, with percussionist Dominique Vleeshouwers, the Orchestre Métropolitain will perform a collection of percussive hits. First, the orchestra will interpret British composer Anna Clyne’s This Midnight Hour. Next on the program is Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös’s Speaking Drums, followed by Rimsky-Korsakov’s enchanting Scheherazade (Nov. 3). www.orchestremetropolitain.com
MUSICA CAMERATA
Musica Camerata’s second concert of the 2023-24 season will take place at the Salle Joseph-Rouleau, in the Maison André-Bourbeau. On the program are Haydn’s Trio for piano and strings in Eb major, No. 29, as well as C. Villiers Stanford’s Quintet for piano and strings in D, Op. 25, and his Piano Quintet in D, Op. 25 (Nov. 4). www.cameratamontreal.com
Gino Vannelli Returns
This fall, Gino Vannelli will make his highly anticipated return to Montreal, alongside the Orchestre Philharmonique du Québec, under the direction of Alexandre Da Costa. Performing Tchaikovsky’s Francesca da Rimini and Vannelli’s own Songs for voice and orchestra, the team is surely to delight audiences at the Maison symphonique (Nov. 5). www.philharmonique.quebec
OUM Performs Daphnis et Chloé
The Orchestre de l’Université de Montréal will open its season with a concert that pairs old favourites with innovative new works. First up, the orchestra, conducted by Jean-François Rivest, and joined by students of the École supérieure de ballet du Québec, pianists Ming Wong and Charissa Vandikas, the Orchestre Métropolitain choir, and choirs from École de musique Vincent-d’Indy will perform the 2023 OUM Concerto Competition winning piece, Snežana Nešić’s Creation. They will then interpret Mendelssohn’s Concerto for Two Pianos, followed by excerpts from Ravel’s Daphnis et Chloé (Nov. 12).
www.musique.umontreal.ca
Amadeus Choir of Toronto: Nosferatu
The Amadeus Choir celebrates its 50th anniversary season with a special Halloween-themed concert presentation of the 1922 silent film Nosferatu. The famous film will be paired with Juno-nominated composer and bassist Andrew Downing’s soundtrack, performed by the choir and a nine-piece jazz combo (Oct. 20).
www.amadeuschoir.com
Toronto Mendelssohn Choir: Carmina Burana
Under the direction of Jean-Sébastien Vallée, the Toronto Mendelssohn Choir will perform Orff’s canonical Carmina Burana, as well as Brahms’s Schicksalslied, Op. 54. The Toronto Children’s Chorus and members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will join the choir for these works, as well as the première of a new composition by Tracy Wong. Soloists Geoffrey Sirett, Ryan McDonald, and Lesley Emma Bouza round out this exciting performance at Roy Thomson Hall (Oct. 26). www.tmchoir.org
Tafelmusik: Mods & Rockers
The Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra has an exciting evening in store for audiences this November. Celebrating the popular music of the 1960s, members of the orchestra will join forces with Andrew Downing and Alex Samaras to perform arrangements of music by The Beatles, David Bowie, Queen, and Petula Clark, alongside British music from the 1600s. Pieces by John Dowland, Thomas Simpson, William Brade, William Young and Henry Purcell will all be on deck during this exciting night of musical varierty at Toronto’s famous El Mocambo (Nov. 7). www.tafelmusik.org
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