Stephanie Mignacca

Free choral concerts in Montréal’s arts centres

Last updated May 10, 2022
Reading time: 2 min
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From April 30 to June 4, choirs from Montréal’s cultural communities offer you free concerts in the city’s arts centres (known as maisons de la culture in French). The series will close with a big concert on July 2 that brings together all of the participating choirs.

Participating arts centres

The “Chants de l’Île” concerts, which will be directed by composer André Pappathomas, will be presented in the following arts centres: Ahuntsic, Côte-des-Neiges, Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, Plateau-Mont-Royal, Janine-Sutto, Pointe-aux-Trembles and the Salle de diffusion de Parc-Extension.

Choirs from around the world

Participating choirs and soloists are:

  • The Canticorum choir, directed by Rodney Hinojosa (Latin America) 
  • The Duo de l’opéra de Pékin, directed by Michèle Jiang (China)
  • The Haïti chante et danse choir, directed by Marie-Claire Léveillée (Haiti)
  • The Antsa Fitoriana choir, directed by Ratsito Rajerison (Madagascar)
  • The Panday Tinig choir, directed by Paul Imperial (Philippines)
  • The Singiza choir, directed by André Dopitari (Rwanda)
  • The Antioche choir, directed by Edouard Zerbe (Syria)
  • The Abruzzese choir, directed by Franco Guido (Italy)
  • The Synagogue hispano-portuguaise choir, directed by Reverend Daniel Benlolo
  • The Olga choir, French immersion students at NDG’s École Bienvenue The Angham choir, with Lilia Bitar and Rania Nabil-Hussain (Middle East)
  • Walid Maali (Tunisia)

The Grand Chœur du Centre-Sud directed by André Pappathomas and made up of residents from the Centre-Sud neighbourhood, will also participate in the project.

See the program of events

Promoting intercultural dialogue and the French language 

“Les Chants de l’Île” promotes inclusiveness, intercultural dialogue, learning French, participating in Québec’s culture and the art of choral singing. 

Director André Pappathomas composed 2 short pieces for each choir using extracts of texts by Québec authors. Each of these pieces is integrated into the concerts being presented in participating arts centres. 

Pappathomas, a composer, designer,director and interdisciplinary artist, is the founder and director of the Mruta Mertsi vocal ensemble. Over the years, he has been invited to direct vocal ensembles both here and abroad, including “Souffles,” a production that brought together 10 choirs from 10 different countries. 

This project is made possible with support from Montréal’s cultural development agreement (in French) de Montréal and is part of the city’s 2021-2024 action plan to promote the French language.

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