2011 - 2012 marks the 40th season of the St. Lawrence Choir.
Recognized as one of the best amateur choral ensembles in Canada, St. Lawrence Choir was formed in 1972 by Iwan Edwards and a group of singers residing in the West Island of Montreal. Concerts were presented in Lachine until 1983 when the Choir relocated to downtown Montreal. Since 1986, the Choir has regularly appeared with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra as the largest component of the MSO chorus, and has made numerous recordings with the symphony. In 1992 the Choir was involved in two concerts to mark the 350th anniversary of the founding of Montreal. In 1999 and 2000, St. Lawrence Choir performed with the MSO and Charles Dutoit at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center to critical acclaim, presenting works by Faure, Dallapiccola, Szymanowski, Orff, de Falla, and Theodorakis.
The St. Lawrence Choir has had the privilege of working with excellent soloists and orchestras, collaborating with the McGill Chamber Orchestra and Ensemble Amati as well as with renowned soloists such as Victoria de los Angeles, John Avey, Theodore Baerg, Colette Boky, Benjamin Butterfield, Ben Heppner, Gaëtan Laperierre, Daniel Lichti, Richard Margison, Kevin McMillan, Peter Pears, Gary Relyea, Henriette Schellenberg, Daniel Taylor, and Nathaniel Watson.
With the MSO, the Choir has appeared in Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa, New York, Philadelphia, Saratoga Springs, and at the Lanaudiere International Music Festival in such works as Handel's Messiah (conducted by McGegan; Edwards, Grossman), Brahms' German Requiem (Decker), Mahler's Symphonies Nos. 2, 3 and 8 (Mehta; Slatkin; Dutoit), Beethoven's Missa Solemnis (Shaw; Edwards), Bach's B minor Mass (Edwards), Penderecki's Polish Requiem (Penderecki), Bertioz' Requiem (Dutoit), Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (Dutoit), Mendelssohn's Elijah (Edwards), Verdi's Requiem (Dutoit), and Dvorak's Stabat Mater (Dutoit). On November 1, 1998, the Choir performed with a gala philharmonic orchestra and a number of children's choirs to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the State of Israel, with proceeds going to the Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation.
Since its inception, numerous concerts by the St. Lawrence Choir have been broadcast across Quebec, to the rest of Canada, and in Europe, over the French and English channels of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and Euroradio. The St. Lawrence Choir is proud to have presented works by Canadian composers such as Victor Davies, Ruth Watson Henderson, Jacques Hetu, Jean Laplante, Donald Patriquin, Imant Raminsh, Bruce Ruddell, GillesTremblay (the premiere of Avec), and Patrick Wedd. A compact disc of works by Haydn, including the Lord Nelson Mass, was recorded by the St. Lawrence Choir and Ensemble Amati in 1996.
Photo Credit: Sarah