For immediate release
20th September 2011
St. Lawrence Choir - 40th ANNIVERSARY SEASON - A year of major works and collaborations
“We have prepared a year of beautiful and extraordinary masterworks. A great year of celebration awaits us all, a real musical 'crescendo': from a cappella repertoire with 120 singers to a boisterous evening for choir and brass band to a passionate culmination of choir, international soloists and full orchestra. I welcome you all to our 40th anniversary season!” - Michael Zaugg
St. Lawrence Choir's 40th Anniversary season kicked off with the televised opening celebrations of the new concert hall at Place des Arts, Montreal. The choir, that has for over twenty-five years been a regular contingent of the OSM chorus, provided the outdoor choir for CBC's special presentation of Beethoven's 9th Symphony. The evening broadcast marked the opening of this new world-class concert hall for Montreal and a new home for the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. This was the first of three concerts with the OSM that take place during St. Lawrence Choir's 40th Anniversary season.
St. Lawrence Choir will perform again with the OSM on December 21st and 22nd for Handel's Messiah under the baton of John Oliver (founder and director of the Tanglewood Festival Chorus).
I: Russian Voices - Rachmaninoff All-Night Vigil (with additional works from the Russian choral tradition).
In the opening concert of the series, St. Lawrence Choir will be joined by the Cantata Singers Ottawa for Rachmaninoff's All-Night Vigil. The 120-voice choir will bring depth and power to this masterpiece of choral music. The programme includes other gems from the Russian Orthodox choral tradition as well as a work by Ukranian composer Roman Hurko. In the impressive Église Immaculée-Conception, this is a season-opener not to be missed.
- Saturday 15th October at 7:30 p.m. - Church of the Immaculate Conception, 4201 Papineau Street, Montreal
- www.choeur.qc.ca/october-15-russian-voices
II: Gloria - Make a joyful noise
This spring concert takes as its centrepiece Gloria by John Rutter. It is not only fitting that the concert takes place in the beautiful church of St. Andrew and St. Paul but that the concert pays tribute to St. Lawrence Choir's founder and Director Emeritus, Iwan Edwards. The choir will be joined by the brass ensemble BUZZ and Montreal organist Jonathan Oldengarm and will perform a variety of works, including Harris's Faire is the Heaven and Parry's I was Glad.
- Saturday 24th March at 7:30 p.m. - Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, Sherbrooke & Bishop, Montreal
- www.choeur.qc.ca/24th-march-gloria
III: Celebremus - Mozart Mass in C minor
The culmination of St. Lawrence Choir's 40th Anniversary season will be perhaps one of the biggest St. Lawrence Choir productions ever staged! Joined by the Orchestre Symphonique de Longueuil and soloists Charlotte Corwin, Tracy Smith Bessette, Isaiah Bell and Alex Dobson, the St. Lawrence Choir, under the direction of Michael Zaugg, will present Montreal's first-ever performance of Robert Levin's critically acclaimed 2004 reconstruction of the C minor Mass, KV 427. The composition is a fitting work to finish the choir's 40th year of musical excellence. The great church of St. Jean-Baptiste provides a fittingly impressive venue.
- Saturday 26th May at 7:30 p.m. - Church of St. Jean Baptiste, 309 Rachel Street East, Montreal
- www.choeur.qc.ca/26th-may-celebremus
Additional concerts include the choir's participation at the 18th Gala des Jeunes Ambassadeurs Lyriques on the 27th November, with an afternoon of opera arias from the choir, Marie-Josée Lord and the Gala's prize winners. In March 2012 the singers of St. Lawrence Choir will participate in a series of Masterclasses run by the Montreal Choral Institute. This event will culminate with the award of the annual Iwan Edward Prize. And finally, for all concertgoers, singers, non-singers or those who like to just hum along, the 40th Anniversary season ends on a lighter note with the annual Sing-Along followed by a celebratory barbecue party!
For further information, press tickets and other enquiries please contact:
Andrew Gray
General Manager
Choeur St-Laurent / St. Lawrence Choir
cel. (514) 463-2290