Alexandre Da Costa and the OSDL: New Restrictions Are Like a Punch in the Guts

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At a press conference on Sept. 28, the Orchestre symphonique de Longueuil (OSDL) presented its new season of concerts. Artistic director Alexandre Da Costa was on hand for the announcement. This year’s program, coinciding with its 35^th season, hopes to provide some solace through the performance of symphonic music.

Seven concerts had been slated for its main venue, the adjunct co-cathedral of Longueuil. One will be devoted to pop songs from Quebec and elsewhere; another feature local icon Mario Pelchat singing his own material and Christmas evergreens. But all hopes for public performances were dashed that day when the provincial government issued a new round of restrictions to stem the second COVID wave. Included was an edict suspending all concert activities till further notice, a move that left the arts community reeling.

“We were shellshocked,” admits Da Costa. “It hurt us, like a punch in the gut. We were numb for a few days. I’m fearful of the consequences, like lapsing back into that state of stagnation that so undermined us last winter.” This turn of events is all the more difficult for him to accept given the organization’s willingness to incorporate public health measures in its programming.

Christmas with Mario Pelchat and tribute to Maurane

The OSDL’s headline concert, to be broadcast online from Dec. 10 to 24, will include a premiere performance of a work written by its resident guest conductor Airat Ichmouratov. Da Costa will also play his 1701 Stradivarius Deveault on one piece, the ever-popular Amazing Grace, as arranged by Matt Riley. Pelchat will appear on stage after intermission to sing a few numbers of his own and a handful of Christmas chestnuts dressed up in symphonic garb. Added to that is the very moving Sur le prélude de Bach by the late Belgian singer Maurane, a variant of the famous Ave Maria credited to both Gounod and Bach. This last item, included on Da Costa’s album STRADIVARIUS BaROCK, is a heartfelt tribute to a diva of popular song who passed away in 2018.

Collective Memory

Da Costa is currently working on Mémoire collective, an online performance project of particular relevance to our troubled times. Inspired by his Balcons symphoniques, a similar initiative conceived by the OSDL for essential workers and seniors, this latest concert presentation was launched on Oct. 29 and will run daily till Nov. 11. Says Da Costa: “We wanted to remind everyone of the creative potential we possess as a people, so we have drawn mainly on works from our own pool of writers to illustrate this. It’s something of a cultural grab bag, and we were given the chance to tour it province-wide, from Gatineau to Gaspé, with some 60 outdoor performances held in front of senior residences, hospitals and CHSLDs.”

Artists are a must

Mémoire collective will present a new take on Luc Plamondon’s hit song Le Blues du businessman, a tune inspired by the We are the World initiative of years past. This revival, spurred by Da Costa, will rally 25 musicians of various stylistic stripes, all of whom have lent their voices pro bono for the cause of the cultural industry. A star-studded cast of personalities will be backed by the virtuoso players of the OSDL in a special stage production directed by Joël Legendre. The lineup reads like a veritable who’s who of Québécois music: Joe Bocan, Brigitte Boisjoli, Gregory Charles, Nathalie Choquette, Marie-Michèle Desrosiers, Sophie Faucher, Fouki, Patsy Gallant, Marc Hervieux, Jonas, Florence K, Marie-Nicole Lemieux, Michel Louvain, Alicia Moffet, Mario Pelchat, Bruno Pelletier, Marie-Denise Pelletier, QW4RTZ, Kim Richardson and Shauit. Le Blues du businessman – Les artistes sont essentiels will surely be worth the watch.

“The pandemic has unleashed several crisis,” says Da Costa, “in public health for sure, but also on more personal and societal levels. Such upheavals have forced us not only to be more aware of the roles we assume in our the community but also to be able to respond quickly to the challenges facing us. If we want to make it through these events of historic importance, we must be ready to meet them head on.”

The concept behind the Plamondon song arose out of the necessity to reaffirm the roles artists play in our society and how their works can be of therapeutic and spiritual value. “My awareness of these benefits became so apparent to me during the Balcons symphoniques tour,” explains Da Costa. “The joy was so palpable when the seniors could finally leave their rooms after the March lockdown and hear us play in the parking lots of the CHSLDs. I was deeply moved.”

Reviving the debate

Da Costa contends that artists have complied with the decision of closing concert venues for public safety, albeit with a caveat: “We need to get the debate going again, first on the status of the artist and the essential role he or she plays, and next to look for solutions that allow us to make our livings under the safest of working conditions.”

Artists, in his view, have been exemplary in their response to the situation. “Not only did we adhere to the guidelines to the letter from the start,” Da Costa goes on, “but I also believe our industry was never hit by a single outbreak. If you respect the norms and limit attendance to 250, it is safe to attend a concert.”

Clearly, there is a need for a more concerted and targeted approach that could incorporate some added and necessary distinctions within the stated guidelines. Da Costa makes the case as follows: “Before hooking up the whole industry to the ventilator, you must contemplate all alternatives, and if nothing pans out, then you take that drastic action.” Far from despairing, Da Costa remains hopeful at the prospect of making adjustments to the rules that will accommodate the various social, cultural and artistic activities in accordance with the stated health risks.

Translation by Marc Chénard