Additional Information
It’s a double anniversary that will be celebrated on Saturday, November 15, 2025, at the Claude-Champagne Hall of the University of Montreal: the 60th anniversary of the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) and the 75th anniversary of the Faculty of Music of the University of Montreal (UdeM). For the occasion, a program tracing the common history of the two venerable institutions will be played, highlighting the music of the various personalities who have directed the SMCQ while being teachers at the Faculty. I spoke about this event and the various elements that unite the two institutions with Simon Bertrand from the SMCQ and Jean-Michaël Lavoie from UdeM.
PANM360: What is the importance of the link between the SMCQ and UdM?
Simon Bertrand: It is important because many composers have played an important role both for the SMCQ and for the music faculty of the University of Montreal, as is the case with Serge Garant.
Jean-Michaël Lavoie: Indeed. Serge Garant was a professor of analysis and composition at the Faculty of Music of the University of Montreal and directed the Contemporary Music Workshop (Atelier de musique contemporaine) before becoming the artistic director of the SMCQ.
PANM360: In your respective hearts and in a completely subjective way, what were the most memorable and historic moments of this collaboration?
Simon Bertrand: There were many, because at the time the Pierre-Mercure Hall (downtown Montreal) did not yet exist and so many of the SMCQ’s memorable concerts took place in the Claude Champagne Hall (at the Faculty, north or the Mountain). Of course, the visits of leading figures of contemporary music such as Stockhausen or Berio were important moments in the history of contemporary music here.
Jean-Michaël Lavoie: Being a professor at the Faculty of Music and director of the Contemporary Music Workshop since 2017, the concert on November 15, 2025, will become the most significant moment for me. I am very happy to participate in this project.
PANM360: How did you build the program, and why the choice of each of these works?
Simon Bertrand: The basic idea was to showcase a work by each of the former artistic directors of the SMCQ, while knowing that, in doing so, we would also be programming composers who have also been or still are professors at the UdM, such as Garant in the past and Sokolovic right now. Of course, we also included a commission to a young composer, in order to ensure the presence of the next generation, and a greater intergenerational dialogue.
PANM360: It has always been a challenge to reach the audience for creative and avant-garde music. In your opinion, is it easier or more difficult today, in our cultural, economic, and technological context?
Simon Bertrand: That depends on the strategies that are adopted. For my part, I consider it essential to break down the barriers of so-called “contemporary” music and to go out and find the audience and other forms of art, and to do this, develop multidisciplinary collaborations with artists in other fields. But the program of this Saturday’s concert has a more historical and commemorative connotation, like a kind of celebration.
Jean-Michaël Lavoie: The challenge remains the same, and I would say it is perhaps more difficult today to reach the audience, as concerts are less attended than before. Today, we can discover all kinds of music and international artists on digital platforms, whereas before, you had to go to a concert to find out what others were doing and open yourself up to new horizons.
PANM360: The various directors of the SMCQ are on the program. Why not Simon Bertrand?
Simon Bertrand: I made a formal pledge not to self-program for at least the first two years of my term at the SMCQ, because I find that too many artistic directors do it and that there are too many conflicts of interest, often very obvious, in our field.
PANM360: How do you envision the future of the relationship between the two institutions? What are the elements that inspire confidence? What are the challenges?
Simon Bertrand: I believe that this natural alliance between the SMCQ and the University of Montreal will last as long as the composers who teach there continue to work with our organisation. That is at least my dearest wish!
Jean-Michaël Lavoie: Collaborations are possible only when there is a willingness to work together and sustained dialogue. Since I’ve been at the Faculty of Music, the dialogue has always been constant. I remember several projects discussed and realised with Walter Boudreau. I am therefore very happy that, under the guidance of Simon Bertrand, this collaboration continues between the Faculty of Music at UdeM and the SMCQ.
PANM360: Anything else you would like to highlight?
Jean-Michaël Lavoie: With the years, I realise that it is just as important to know the past and history well as it is to be in advancement, progress, novelty, creation, etc. Knowing where we come from and why this and that was done is extremely revealing and gives meaning to what we do today (and tomorrow).
Saturday, November 15, 2025 7:30 PM
Works by Boudreau, Daigneault, Garant, Sokolović, and Tremblay.
Participants :
Ensemble de la SMCQ
Cristian Gort, musical direction
Contemporary Music Ensemble of the University of Montreal
Jean-Michaël Lavoie, musical direction
Programme
- Coffre III(a) (Le Cercle Gnostique I {<Incantations IV>}) (1978, 84, 93), 10:00
Walter Boudreau
flute (or clarinet), cello and piano - Quintette (1978), 16:00
Serge Garant
flute (flute alto), oboe (cor anglais), cello, piano and percussions- Play excerpt
- Nombres I
oboe, cello, vibraphone, piano - Solo
flute - Aria I
flute, oboe, vibraphone - Trio
flute, oboe, vibraphone - Nombres II
flute alto, cor anglais, cello, vibraphone, piano - Duo
marimba, piano - Aria II, avec introduction
flute, oboe, cello, vibraphone - Quatuor
flute, oboe, vibraphone, violoncelle - Nombres III
flute (flûte alto), oboe (cor anglais), cello, gongs, tam-tam, piano
- Cinq locomotives et quelques animaux (1996), 12:57
Ana Sokolović
flute, clarinet, bassoon, french horn, percussions, violon, viola, cello - Souffles (Champs II) (1968), 15:00
Gilles Tremblay
2 flutes (piccolo), oboe, clarinet, french horn, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, piano, 2 percussions, double bass
Commission : SMCQ, with help from Canada Coucil for the Arts - Sensations: Lueurs du néant (2025)
Maxime Daigneault
2 flutes, oboe, clarinet, french horn, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, celesta, 2 percussions, 2 cellos, double bass
Premiere
