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Montréal, June 7, 2017 – From 1-7 July 2017, musicians and music lovers from around the world will descend upon Montreal! During the Montreal Organ Festival, more than 1000 participants are expected to come from all parts of the United States and Canada, as well as Australia, China, Europe, Hong Kong, and South Africa. Organized as a collaboration of The American Guild of Organists, the Royal Canadian College of Organists and the Canadian International Organ Competition, this festival will be the largest gatherings of organists ever to take place in Canada.
Dozens of concerts, professional development activities, workshops, networking events in the city’s cultural hotspots, masterclasses, and private tours of organ lofts and organ-builder workshops have been organized. Participants will have the chance to visit some of Montréal’s most stunning venues, including the Maison Symphonique, St. Joseph’s Oratory, and Notre-Dame Basilica.
One of the primary motivations for the Montreal Organ Festival is to celebrate the Canada 150th and Montreal 375th anniversaries. We look forward to welcoming friends from around the world to celebrate Canada’s cultural heritage. The festival also welcomes curious locals and tourists who are interested in music and Montreal culture to join us at one of our dozens of public concerts and activities around the city.
Public Concerts
Of the almost 100 events scheduled during the Festival, four events are not to be missed: An Outdoor Organ Extravaganza to Celebrate Canada Day, Roomful of Teeth vocal ensemble from New York City,a concert in collaboration with the Jazz Festival with Christian Lane, Jean-Willy Kunz and a jazz quintet, and Olivier Latry from Notre-Dame de Paris.
Organ Unleashed!
Place d’Armes, July 1st 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM
A three-hour outdoor organ extravaganza, featuring a performance by Alcée Chriss III (Texas), public demos of the pipe organ, and silent films on a giant LED screen accompanied by Peter Krasinski (Boston). Takes place at Place d’armes, just outside of Notre-Dame Basilica
Roomful of Teeth
Marie Reine-du-Monde Cathedral, July 4, 2017, 8:00 PM
Roomful of Teeth is a GRAMMY-winning vocal project dedicated to mining the expressive potential of the human voice. Through study with masters from singing traditions the world over, the eight-voice ensemble continually expands its vocabulary of singing techniques and, through an ongoing commissioning process, forges a new repertoire without borders.
Christian Lane and Jean-Willy Kunz (with a Jazz quintet)
Maison symphonique, July 5, 2017, 7:00 PM
Winner of the 2011 Canadian International Organ Competition, Christian Lane is one of America’s most accomplished and versatile young organists.
Jean-Willy Kunz is the first organist in residence of the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. In addition to playing both with the orchestra and in recital, he sees to the development and showcasing of the OSM’s Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique installed at Maison Symphonique de Montréal.
Jazz quintet, featuring:
André Moisan, clarinet and saxophone
Frédéric Alarie, double bass
Camil Belisle. Percussion
Hélène Lemay, trombone.
Olivier Latry
Notre-Dame Basilica, July 6, 2017, 8:00 PM
French organist Olivier Latry is one of the most distinguished concert organists in the world today. One of three titular organists at the Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Paris, he is also Professor of Organ at the Paris Conservatory of Music, Organist Emeritus with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra in Canada, and maintains a full schedule of concert performances appearing regularly as a soloist at prestigious venues and festivals, and with leading orchestras around the world.
The Montreal Organ Festival
The Montréal Organ Festival was created to celebrate the Canada 150 and Montréal 375 year by creating a window to the world, allowing people young and old to discover the majestic beauty of the pipe organ, and the important role that this instrument has played in Canadian and Québécois culture for over 200 years.
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