OSM announces final concerts of the season

This page is also available in / Cette page est également disponible en: Francais (French)

Montreal, May 13, 2021 – The OSM concludes a thoroughly exceptional season by presenting two concerts that are sure to leave a lasting impression! First, offered free of charge via webcast on June 15 VOICES OF WOMEN: AN ODE TO LIFE pays tribute to women creators and performers, and to all women in an ode to their sensitivity and diversity. Next, audience members are invited to join us at the Maison symphonique on May 28 and 29 for the last concert of the season, BEWITCHING MELODIES: BERLIOZ’S LES NUITS D’ÉTÉ led by Dutch conductor and Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Otto Tausk. In this program, also available via webcast, works by Berlioz and Prokofiev showcase several Quebec soloists and musicians from the Orchestra. Do not miss these two final events—a brilliant conclusion to an unprecedented season.

Under the direction of Dina Gilbert and featuring an entirely female cast of performers, Voices of Women: An ode to life integrates the multiple, timeless, and exceptional voices of women artists. Seize this opportunity to appreciate diverse local and international composers (Ana Sokolović, Alexina Louie, Barbara Croall, Lili Boulanger and Elizabeth Maconchy) in a selection that highlights throat singing, violin, flute, and orchestra. Weaving a narrative swathed in the colours of the tundra, Innu poet Joséphine Bacon gives a reading of her poetry on the themes of night, the seasons, and the cycle of life. With sensitivity, wisdom, and creativity, this event creates a valuable space for dialogue between cultures, eras, and languages.

This concert is dedicated to the memory of all the victims of violence against women whose voices can no longer be heard.

The OSM is delighted to welcome the conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Otto Tausk, who will direct Berlioz’s Les Nuits d’été, a cycle of six art songs evoking love with tenderness, restlessness, mystery, and exhilaration. These works for solo voice and orchestra will be shared among four of our most brilliant Canadian artists: Hélène Guilmette, Caroline Gélinas, Frédéric Antoun and Geoffroy Salvas. Melody then flows from the voice to the orchestra in one of Prokofiev’s last works, the Symphony no. 7, crafted to highlight each one of the OSM’s instrumental sections.