Interviews Archive - Page 22 of 115

Composed entirely with an instrument he designed himself, Graham Hudson-Jameson (Dr. Jekyll Project) took on the challenging task of melding a completely experimental approach with the traditional style of Lied music. And well, he succeeded.

It is an album that is to be listened to in its entirety, and I would add, several times. While the first listen may be an overwhelming experience of awe and curiosity, the second and third listens reveal the interlocking dimensions that encompass this powerful feeling. In typical electroacoustic fashion, each song manages to orchestrate varying textures and voices which phase in and out of a non-rhythm, meeting naturally at the breaking points of an overseeing storyline.

Set to a poem which embraces the discomforts of aging, Gwyneth Hudson-Jameson’s intimate confessions of fears, yearnings, and regrets are boldly amplified by the dramatic appeals only a skilled opera singer such as she could execute. In a way you wouldn’t expect, her singing always finds the right tone to either accompany or contrast the music. Sometimes tearful, sometimes standing tall and strong, you can let yourself be carried away, vicariously living through her voice.

In its entirety, this album is exploding with meaning. Graham and Gwyneth are both noticeably experienced, and their chemistry as siblings creates a whole like we rarely see in duos.

With the Festival Vibrations coming up (his performance is on Friday), I spoke to Graham who is preparing their performance with this instrument of his, the Lightbox, to better understand how such an unique approach came to be.

INFOS & TICKETS HERE

PAN M 360 : The album’s central metaphor is the fading of colors to describe the transition from childhood to adulthood. Could you elaborate on how this specific visual metaphor translates into sound, both in your vocal composition and in the electronic textures you create?

Graham Hudson-Jameson : I was inspired to use the visual metaphor of fading colors because I once read that as we age, the lens of the eye yellows, making colors appear less bright. I didn’t fact-check it, but the idea stuck with me. The fading of color reflects the loss of childlike innocence, gradually giving way to a monochrome, jaded perspective on life. Sonically, I approached this metaphor quite literally. In the first part, the sounds are bright and clear, and the vocals express freedom while describing the vibrant world around them. In the second part, the colors and the music begin to blur, with faster tempos and more chaotic rhythms. In the third part, the sound is almost entirely choral, with most voices holding sustained, monotone notes, reflecting the monochrome world of old age. There is also a section that reaches back to childhood, but the memory is fragmented and distorted before returning to the present.

PAN M 360 : The title “Autoportrait” contains many tracks, suggesting multiple self-portraits. Are these songs different facets of a single self at different times, or are they portraits of different, perhaps archetypal, individuals going through this universal passage?

Graham Hudson-Jameson : I divided the self-portrait into three distinct parts to represent different stages of a person’s life. The first part depicts childhood, when everything moves slowly and the world feels bright and fascinating. The second part represents adulthood, when time rushes by and life’s beauties blur together. The third part portrays old age, when everything has turned monochrome, and the person looks back with nostalgia and a hint of regret for not having enjoyed life to the fullest. Together, the three parts tell the story of one individual moving through these milestones.

PAN M 360 : You developed the concept for this album in the context of the Musiques Numériques Bachelor program. Can you talk about how mentorship guided you through this process?

Graham Hudson-Jameson : I started brainstorming ideas for this project while taking the project class with Ana Dall’Ara-Majek. She helped me develop the Lightbox, an instrument that uses light sensors to control sound parameters in Max/MSP. I was also taking a writing class with Philippe Gareau, who helped me understand harmonic structures and choral voicing. Lastly, in a history of Romantic music class with François de Médicis, I learned about the structures of various Lieder, which greatly influenced both my musical ideas and my narrative approach.

PAN M 360 : In this learning curve, is there something you wish you understood earlier on in your studies?

Graham Hudson-Jameson : The hardest part was coding in Max/MSP. I was taking the class at the same time as I was writing the album, and I often had ideas that I couldn’t put into practice right away because I lacked the necessary knowledge of the program. As the course progressed, however, I was able to apply what I was learning directly to the project. I do regret not taking the class earlier.

PAN M 360 : What has inspired you the most throughout the past couple of years to keep creating?

Graham Hudson-Jameson : I’m inspired by stories and narrative structures. I love listening to stories and expressing them through my music. I believe storytelling is how we connect with one another and how we come to understand the human condition.

PAN M 360 : Despite having studied electronic music, you are a brilliant composer, and I think this is what sticks out from your work. It seems obvious now, but why did you choose to pursue electronic music?

Graham Hudson-Jameson : I am classically trained on the piano and studied jazz and pop in cégep, but I have always loved experimenting with the timbre of my instruments. As a child, I would open my family’s upright piano, scratch the strings, and fill it with aluminum foil or socks just to explore new sounds. In high school, I saved up to buy my first synthesizer, and I immediately fell in love with electronic music. I still deeply enjoy classical and choral music, but I also crave timbral experimentation. For this project, I chose to blend both worlds as a way to challenge the boundaries of musical genres.

PAN M 360 : For this project you chose to work with your sister Gwynneth who is an incredible opera singer. Can you tell us about how this came about?

Graham Hudson-Jameson : I grew up learning music alongside my sister, and we both fell in love with it. She pursued a classical path, while I explored experimental music, and I’ve always thought it would be fascinating to combine our worlds. When I asked her to join me on this project, she was enthusiastic about the idea—and that’s how we came to collaborate!

PAN M 360 : The Lied tradition and live electronic music seem to be completely opposed practices, yet they work very well together. Did either of you have to adapt the techniques of your respective practices in the process of creating this piece?

Graham Hudson-Jameson : A Lied is a German song, especially from the Romantic period, typically for solo voice accompanied by piano. A Lied cycle is a series of songs that together present a narrative or thematic progression. The tradition began with Franz Schubert in the 19th century, and since then, composers have written song cycles in many languages and with various accompaniments, sometimes piano alone, sometimes with strings or other instruments. My approach to the song cycle is similar. I created three songs meant to be performed in sequence as a single musical work, but I chose to accompany them with my Lightbox instead of piano. The main adaptation was in execution. Electronic music often relies on improvisation and free time, which isn’t always intuitive for classical singers. We practiced extensively, and now Gwynneth is able to follow my cues seamlessly.

PAN M 360 : Having completed this intense exploration of a fragile transition, where does this project leave you as an artist? What emotional or creative territory are you interested in exploring next?

Graham Hudson-Jameson : I am very happy with the results and proud of the work I accomplished with Gwynneth, but this project wouldn’t have been possible without the support of several others, including Ana Dall’Ara-Majek, Jules Argis, Dominic Thibault, Nicolas Bernier, Gaëtan Proulx, the Mosaïque team, and the LFO team. For my next project, I plan to focus on developing a solo repertoire for my Lightbox. While I’m not yet certain about the specific themes, I want to further explore sample manipulation, synthesis, and spatialization through the instrument.

Publicité panam

From October 16 to 18, 2025, the 75th anniversary of the Faculty of Music at the University of Montreal coincides with the three days of the third edition of the Vibrations Festival. More specifically:

An international symposium on the theme of music, diplomacy, and propaganda.

A Thursday evening at the Théâtre Outremont to commemorate the 45th anniversary of the U de M Big Band.

An electro Friday with performances and launches of two productions—David Caulet and Graham Hudson-Jameson.

A symphonic Saturday with the OUM conducted by Mathieu Lussier. This is an excellent opportunity to discover emerging composers and performers of the highest caliber! Marie-Hélène Benoit-Otis, associate professor of musicology and Canada Research Chair in Music and Politics, presents the symposium “Music, Diplomacy, and Propaganda” and gives an overview of the Vibrations festival through its programming.

In partnership with La Vitrine, PAN M 360 invites you to discover this university festival open to music lovers.

Publicité panam

In his last orchestral configurations that marked the history of jazz, the ensemble of the famous pianist Oscar Peterson consisted of the late prodigious Danish double bassist Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen (NHOP), the late English drummer Martin Drew, and Swedish guitarist Ulf Wakenius, who is part of the Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet. The main purpose of this ensemble, needless to say, is to commemorate the centenary of the Montreal-based super-virtuoso, who passed away on December 23, 2007.

As he did last summer at the Maison symphonique de Montréal during the Montreal International Jazz Festival, guitarist Ulf Wakenius will perform on Friday, October 24 at the Palais Montcalm. This outstanding guitarist will be performing alongside the superb Canadian pianist (of Hungarian and Gypsy origin) Robi Botos, Manitoba double bassist Mike Downes, and Montreal drummer Jim Doxas, who is also the 2025 recipient of the Oscar Peterson Award presented by the FIJM and handed over personally by our own Oliver Jones.

The biographical profile of Sweden’s Ulf Wakenius reminds us that he is one of Scandinavia’s most renowned jazz guitarists. His reputation dates back to the 1980s with the band Guitars Unlimited. Then came his association with the late Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Oscar Peterson’s fabulous sideman, with whom he recorded Those Who Were (1996) and This Is All I Ask (1998). Wakenius led the group Venture (1992), which attracted drummer Jack DeJohnette, saxophonists Bill Evans (not the other one) and Bob Berg, trumpeter Randy Brecker, pianist Niels Lan Doky, and bassists Chris Minh Doky and Lars Danielsson. With pianist Haakon Graf, he formed the group Graffiti, which welcomed leading American musicians. His discography is extensive, with more than fifteen albums as a leader (including several opuses on the Act label) and even more as a sideman.

In addition to Oscar Peterson’s famous quartet, the guitarist was also part of the Trail of Dreams adventure with the duo OP and Michel Legrand (2000).

Ahead of the concert in Quebec City on Friday, October 24 at Palais Montcalm, PAN M 360 spoke for a good half hour with Ulf Wakenius, who we reached at his home in Sweden.

PAN M 360: We are delighted to speak with you at your home. Where do you live in Sweden?

Ulf Wakenius : In Gothenburg.

PAN M 360: You came to play in Canada for several months, before and after OP’s death. Now you are the only living member involved in this Oscar Peterson Centennial ensemble. So you are its most prominent member!

Ulf Wakenius: I would start by saying this: joining Oscar Peterson’s band was a dream come true for me as a guitarist. It was a tremendous honor! For more than 10 years, I found myself following in the footsteps of my guitar idols who had played with OP in the past, such as Joe Pass, Barney Kessel, and Herb Ellis. I was able to experience the generosity and greatness of spirit that our Oscar showed us. So when I have the chance to honor him by playing his music, I do so with great pleasure, anywhere in the world. Many musicians from Canada, the United States, and Europe have had the honor of playing with him.

PAN M 360: Some musicians have told me that OP wasn’t always the coolest with some of his sidemen. What about you?

Ulf Wakenius: Maybe, but… in my day, he was happy, welcoming, and calm with his colleagues. My experience with him was always super encouraging and fostered loyalty. When you were accepted into that group, it was because you could play, and so you had his respect. And I have to repeat that Niels Henning and I loved him. It was the experience of a lifetime to play with such a legend.

PAN M 360: Yes, a worthy successor to his main influences: Teddy Wilson, Nat King Cole (an excellent pianist before becoming a crooner), and first and foremost Art Tatum. Nearly two decades after OP’s death, how does it feel to be involved in a tribute band alongside Canadian musicians who are younger than you?

Ulf Wakenius: Honestly, I can only play tribute concerts for Oscar with musicians like these, who are exceptionally good.

My Canadian friends are fantastic! It’s a pure pleasure to play Oscar’s music with them.

PAN M 360: Canadian and Scandinavian jazz musicians certainly have northern affinities!

Ulf Wakenius: Yes! I always feel a bit at home when I’m in Canada. Of course, the nature is very similar. The forests, the cold, the snow… And we’ve exported a few hockey players to your country!

PAN M 360: That’s right! We have some very good ones. From Sweden, Finland, Denmark.

Ulf Wakenius: I’m Swedish, I love hockey!

PAN M 360: How do you see your own evolution through these fantastic experiences as a guitar player? What have you learned or what things have you changed by playing with OP?

Ulf Wakenius: I was always impressed by his stage presence, beyond his virtuosity. One of the best men I’ve ever met in my life. He really gave his all for the audience, night after night. So I learned that you always give 100%. If OP could do it, so could we. It was very inspiring! Every night, he played beautifully. It was simply wonderful!

PAN M 360: And how did things go after his stroke, which affected his left hand?

Ulf Wakenius: He had to relearn how to move his left hand. And it was also very brave of him to explore and discover new sides of himself. Oscar became more tender and lyrical. This led him to write pieces like When Summer Comes, one of his most beautiful compositions, which we always play in our tribute concerts. I remember we performed at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, and when Oscar played, every note retraced the history of half a century of jazz piano. His touch was sublime! Even after his serious illness, his left hand could still do so much.

PAN M 360: I imagine that after his stroke, the bonds between you and him grew stronger, and you musicians became a closer family.

Ulf Wakenius: Yes. Once you were accepted, you were part of the family. And he was exceptionally generous, you know. We would gather at his home in Mississauga; while his wife cooked for us, he would tell us extraordinary stories. Extremely generous!

PAN M 360: His daughter Céline accompanies you in several concerts to pay tribute to her father. She was also there last summer at the Montreal concert.

Ulf Wakenius: That’s right. I’ve traveled all over the world with Céline. It’s like family to me, you know.

PAN M 360: And in this family, the pianist must be extremely talented because he has to evoke OP without imitating him. So you have with you a Hungarian and Gypsy pianist who was listened to by Oscar and who learned from him: Robi Botos.

Ulf Wakenius: So it’s crucial to have a fantastic player to pay tribute to Oscar Peterson. And Robie is fantastic; he was spotted by Oscar for that very reason. He has Oscar’s swing, but at the same time he’s curious and can do other things on the piano.

PAN M 360: What is the relationship with the members of the Oscar Peterson Centennial Quartet?

Ulf Wakenius: They are exceptionally good. Mike Downes is more than just a very good bass player; he arranged the song Trail of Dreams, which we played in Japan. And Jim Doxas is more than just a rhythm section player; he does a lot of things on the drums, he’s great.

PAN M 360: Yes, and Jim played for many years with Oliver Jones, who was an emulator of Oscar Peterson, raised in the same neighborhood and musically educated by Daisy Peterson-Sweeney.

Ulf Wakenius: Yes, Oliver Jones was a wonderful player.

PAN M 360: How do you manage the two harmonic instruments in this kind of ensemble? Oscar has played a lot with guitarists since his early days. But at the same time, it’s not always easy to have a guitar and a piano in a quartet and maintain a real-time dialogue between these two instruments.

Ulf Wakenius: That’s true. You know, I get asked that question a lot. And I always give the same answer: It’s very easy, use your ears, play when you need to play, and also stop at the right moment. It’s just a matter of listening.

PAN M 360: How much creative freedom did OP give you?

Ulf Wakenius: Oscar was extremely generous. He let me play a lot of solos, I had a lot of space to express myself. I pinch myself when I think back on it. It was fantastic.

PAN M 360: Did you change last summer’s program for the Quebec City concert?

Ulf Wakenius: There will be some new songs, others will be the same, I don’t want to reveal the set list! Let’s just say that there are two songs that always have to be played: Hymn to Freedom and When Summer Comes. They’re so beautiful! I also love Cakewalk…. And then we play different songs from different eras.

PAN M 360: One thing is certain: we are very happy to have you back with us in Quebec!

Ulf Wakenius: Yes, I can’t wait, it’s going to be great!

PAN M 360: Can you tell us about your other upcoming activities?

Ulf Wakenius: In short, I play my music all over the world, with different groups. And I will be participating in another tribute in Vienna, with a European ensemble featuring strings and, of course, piano. Whenever I am given the opportunity to pay tribute to Oscar, I do so. So I am a happy man!

Ahead of the release of his album Symphonie publicitaire sous l’influence on 17 October, Alix Fernz invited me to the Club Social on Wednesday afternoon to talk about music. He passionately described the themes of his work and the influences that have made him the artist he is today.

After a series of albums with his band Bloodskin Atopic, Alexandre Fournier experienced a musical renaissance during the pandemic, emerging with a solo project: Alix Fernz. His debut album, Bizou, was the culmination of his love for post-punk. Combining the spirit of artists such as Gang of Four and Gary Numan with the more glamorous and relaxed side of figures such as Wyatt Shears and Ariel Pink, the album explores unbridled authenticity. His presence, style and music form a carefully crafted whole, reflecting a sharp punk freedom that flirts with the experimental and breathes new life into Montreal’s alternative scene.

PAN M 360: What is the status of punk music in Quebec today?

Alix Fernz: Punk in Quebec has grown since I arrived in Montreal in 2019. At the time, it was a bit dead, but now, with bands like Béton Armé, for example, we have a new pillar of French-language punk in Montreal. They put on a hell of a show. The Quebec music scene seems to be constantly reinventing itself, and punk will never die.

PAN M 360: What are the ideas behind the punk movement that you identify with?

Alix Fernz: It’s more than just music. It comes with the collective community movement, the DIY aspect too. For me, that’s what punk is all about. There’s a strong community. Everyone looks scary, but everyone is super nice. That’s always fascinated me. When I was younger, I used to go to shows and see street punks with mohawks and tattoos, and I was like, ‘Damn, they’re scary.’ Often, there’s a lot of drug abuse, and they’re a bit special, eccentric, but in the end they’re super friendly.

PAN M 360: What makes punks so endearing?

Alix Fernz: There’s no pretence. No one’s trying to prove themselves. We mind our own business. We support each other. You know, I’m not saying I’m 100% part of that community, but when I go to events, like shows at Van Horne, there’s this intense energy, but it never turns violent, never turns chaotic. It’s always respectful.

PAN M 360: I remember your first albums with Bloodskin Atopic. You released three in one year, then radio silence. A few years later, you released Bizou, which has a completely different sound, with more post-punk influences like Gang of Four. Can you tell us about that transition?

Alix Fernz: I had just launched Bloodskin Atopic when COVID hit two weeks later. It was a big ‘fuck.’ But COVID gave me time to discover new influences and take the time to rework my sound. I think that before, with Bloodskin, I was really stuck on garage psych, and I was losing myself a bit in that. I would put the guitar really high, I would do the same moves, I wanted to be that. I listened to anything when I was young. I listened to the Top 40. What my parents listened to: Kiss, Rush, good dad rock. Then I discovered Gang of Four, I listened to a lot more post-punk, and more L.A. bands like The Garden. I also listened to a lot of Ariel Pink, even though that can be a bit problematic. I listened to a lot more jazz, Coltrane, lots of more experimental stuff too. I said to myself, ‘Right, I’m going to change my name, I’m going to start again from scratch.’ Start again from scratch like everyone else.

PAN M 360: I remember your first show as Alix Fernz at Le Système. You were alone in the crowd singing to electronic music. It’s not just your style that has changed, but your whole approach, and even your aesthetic. Can you tell us about that?

Alix Fernz: After COVID, I met my current girlfriend, Nora. She inspired me enormously. I really started to get into 70s UK punk in terms of aesthetics. I started dressing that way—I still dress that way today—that’s what got me going.

What allowed me to truly be 100% myself and put on an energetic show was simply dropping the guitar during performances. Before, with Bloodskin, I really hid behind the guitar because I was stressed. I play guitar, but I’m not gifted—I’m capable in the studio, but live I was so stressed. Alix Fernz’s first show was just me alone with a backing track. And it was such a relief. With the vibe that was there, all my friends were there, no stage, down in the crowd, I was like, ‘OK, this is it.’ I did bigger shows. I had a full band… Yeah, no, it just really clicked. And now I’m on stage, I have my band, I’m having a lot of fun. And I still do solo shows, I’m trying to push that a little bit more.

PAN M 360: Let’s talk about the upcoming album Symphonie publicitaire sous influence, scheduled for release on October 17. The titles are particularly evocative. In fact, I looked up 800 Gouin Boulevard on a map, and it’s the address of the Bordeaux prison?

Alix Fernz: It’s an interlude after the song 2h15. The song 2h15 is about a guy who attacked everyone outside a bar for no reason. He ran away. I was looking for a name for an interlude. What could it be? Let’s go to Bordeaux prison.

PAN M 360: Does the album consist of several stories like this that intertwine?

Alix Fernz: More or less. It’s mostly made up of songs I wrote during the Bizou period. There’s even one song, the last one on the album, “CHOC,” which is a cover of an old Bloodskin track. The album doesn’t necessarily have an obvious theme or direct links between the songs. But when I start writing lyrics and composing, I always try to build an album that has a theme, something to say. Often about things I observe. I really try to bring out the slightly sad and negative side of party life. That loneliness that people carry around with them, but hide behind a ‘hey, life!’

PAN M 360: What do you mean by this ‘negative’ point of view?

Alix Fernz: Not negative in the sense that I’m judging, but rather in the sense that I wanted to talk about things that people don’t usually talk about. Often, there are a lot of facades; people party to escape. But there’s also a slightly sad side to it, sometimes, with people abusing substances and things like that. I wanted to highlight this aspect to show people that it happens to far more people than we think. Then there are a lot of things I dramatised. Sometimes, at the bar, I’ll try to imagine that person’s before and after: why did they end up there? It’s 50-50 because building something 100% from scratch is tough.

PAN M 360: This is a question I like to ask artists — and especially you, since you work at L’Esco. In your opinion, what does the Quebec alternative scene need to thrive?

Alix Fernz: There has already been progress. With subsidies, it’s easier for bands to go and play elsewhere and get financial support to break into other countries. But they could definitely have more. I know that M for Montreal does a lot in this regard. They have a lot of showcases at several festivals abroad. I’ve done a lot of them, like at the Great Escape in the UK. They do them in Germany, all over France, and even in the US—I did one for South by Southwest. That’s really what I want for artists here, especially French-speaking ones. We just don’t have enough visibility in the world. We remain a bit stuck and closed off in Quebec. That’s not a bad thing in itself, but it’s not enough. We need to get ourselves on the map!

PAN M 360: Do you plan to move to Europe one day?

Alix Fernz: We’ll see. For now, I’m going to focus on seeing what my second album brings me in terms of reach. I know my songs are playing on the radio in France, which is cool. That’s what my label told me.

Alix Fernz is a gem of the local scene, evolving alongside other Quebec bands that are making waves — Population 2, Mulch, Béton Armé, among others. Mark your calendars for October 17 for the release of his album, and don’t miss his show on November 8, where he will perform all of the songs live.

Photo: Aabid Yousef

Presented in four languages by Chants Libres, Paramirabo, and Le Vivier, uniting music, poetry, and image, Songs of the Drowning promises to be an interdisciplinary performance by Roozbeh Tabandeh, inspired by the poems of Sandeep Bhagwati and the paintings of Khosro Berahmandi. PAN M 360 speaks here with the composer, artistic director, and “unifier” of the disciplines involved in this program presented at the Wilder this Wednesday, October 15.

INFO AND TICKETS HERE

PAN M 360: How is this interdisciplinarity of music-poetry-painting articulated?

Roozbeh Tabandeh: The work is situated at the intersection of Sandeep Bhagwati’s poems and Khosro Berahmandi’s paintings. It invites the participating artists to reflect on the themes addressed in Sandeep’s poems and the figures, textures, and colors of Khosro’s paintings, and then to express their understanding through the prism of their artistic discipline. How can an imaginary space be created that invites contemplation on the themes of the poems while drawing inspiration from the visual world of the paintings? What does this space look like from a musical perspective? How do the scenographers and visual artists perceive it? And what does this space offer the public to discover? These are the key questions of this project.

PAN M 360: Through Sandeep Bhagwati’s poetry, the central thread of the work is expressed in four languages. How do you involve four languages—German, English, French, and Farsi—in a narrative framework?

Roozbeh Tabandeh: The decision to present the poems in four languages contributes greatly to the work’s inclusivity and linguistic diversity. German is the original language of the poems and the poet’s mother tongue. Farsi is my mother tongue, as well as that of Khosro, Hadi, and Haleh, three important artists in this work. The work will premiere in Quebec, where the artistic team lived and created for several years. French therefore seems like an obvious choice. And English makes the work accessible to a wider audience across Canada and internationally. This work raises important questions about the condition of human (and non-human) beings in our time. These kinds of themes are broadly inclusive, and the four languages used symbolize the universality of these questions and concerns.

It was also a big challenge because some of the themes addressed in the poem are deeply rooted in culture and extremely difficult to translate. It seems like some parts of the poem just don’t want to be translated! So we had to be extremely careful and find a way to navigate these languages and the cultural connotations associated with them. This reminds us that, although these questions are universal and broad, the perspectives for answering them are extremely diverse and specific to each culture.

PAN M 360: This poetic cycle by Sandeep is said to be a critical contemplation of the human condition in our time. Can you give us some more details about the content and form of these nine texts?

Roozbeh Tabandeh: Sandeep wrote these nine short poems in the post-pandemic context we have all been experiencing, as we grappled with the challenges facing humanity in our time: the senseless wars, the corrupt politicians constantly struggling for power, the way we treat our species, non-humans, our environment, our planet… We are indeed living in troubled times, and we, as artists, cannot simply choose to close our eyes, “live a good life,” and not react to the realities of the world we live in. However, this work is not a statement of reality. Rather, it is a space for contemplation that floats above reality and invites deep reflection.

When I first read these poems, I was also going through a difficult time in my life, facing personal difficulties. So these poems touched me deeply, both in my heart and in my mind. And I thought it might be a good idea to stage this, invite other artists to reflect on these topics, and finally present it to the public.

In short, all the different lines of thought in this work converge around the theme of drowning. However, we try hard to distance ourselves from the negative connotations of this term. Obviously, one can drown in water, but one can also drown in one’s thoughts, memories, daily life, even in a piece of music! There are drownings from which one does not survive, but there are also other drownings from which one survives, but without ever remaining unchanged. It therefore has a transformative and stimulating quality. And this is our goal in this piece: through nine scenes, just as in the poems, we extend the metaphor of drowning (in any form) to several dimensions. The piece slows down the process of drowning, metaphorically placing it under the magnifying glass of contemplation.

PAN M 360: The work fuses these four languages with the music of Roozbeh Tabandeh, yours, as well as video works by Hadi Jamali inspired by the paintings of Khosro Berahmandi as well as a scenography created by the scenographer and architect Haleh Vedadi and Roozbeh Tabandeh. Further explanations?

Roozbeh Tabandeh: The music is composed from the ideas presented in each poem. Then, the formal structure of the music and its timeline define the architecture of the piece, within which other artists begin to create their own spaces. The result is an imaginary space formed by the assembly of these individual spaces, overlapping each other. It is indeed a complex, multi-layered universe.

PAN M 360: The show is a co-production under the artistic direction of Roozbeh Tabandeh, co-broadcast with Paramirabo, Chants Libres and Le Vivier.

Can you explain to us the choices and approaches of your composition (styles involved, instrumentation, arrangement, your own style)?

Roozbeh Tabandeh: Songs of the Drowning is a 70-minute composition, my longest in a career spanning over twenty years. It also concludes the ideas I have explored in several works and installations over the past decade. Thus, in addition to presenting new compositions created specifically for this performance, I make several references to my own past compositions. I also make numerous references to the works of important 20th-century composers.

The dance movement is an obvious homage to Stravinsky’s music in The Rite, which inspired my piece with its abrupt rhythmic structure and the strong ritualistic qualities inherent in his music. In the context of this work, I extend the idea of ”dancing oneself to death” from The Rite of Spring to that of “dancing while drowning.” This is an interesting aspect of this piece: here, not only are the subjects aware of their drowning state and express themselves about it, but they even sing and dance while drowning.

The third scene begins with a strong reference to Brian Ferneyhough’s music in his piece Mnemosyne, where an extremely complex and detailed solo bass flute floats above a flattened palette of long gestures presented in the pre-recorded media. The idea of extreme complexity versus extreme flatness reminds me of Khosrau’s painting, where we sometimes find large areas of solid color, such as a huge red circle, and right next to it, an area covered in a dense texture composed of extremely detailed lines, dots, and ornaments. I then staged this idea in a unique context, with a large bell instrument specially designed and manufactured for this piece, which extends to the grille with bells installed above the heads of the audience. Thus, the stage space begins from the stage, but animates the entire architecture of the hall.

In this work, there are also further references to the sound manipulation techniques of early musique concrète, as well as to the traditions of noise music, and questioning the superficial boundaries between music and noise.

So it’s a wide range of musical ideas brought together in a single 70-minute piece.

PAN M 360: Since you work with other creative materials beyond your own composition, what about your artistic direction in the context of this interdisciplinary work?

Roozbeh Tabandeh: As artistic director, my role is to bring people together. To channel the flow in a particular direction while offering artistic freedom to the participating artists. I believe artists should have the right to present their proposals, even if I don’t personally identify with some of them. I don’t think everything should pass through my gaze in a collaborative context like this. On the contrary, it would be counterintuitive for me to comment on Khosro Berahmandi’s paintings, for example: looking at a blue rectangle and asking him to change it to a red circle because I prefer it that way! Because interdisciplinarity also means being placed between several art histories, between different artistic conceptions from multiple perspectives. I don’t have the same knowledge of the history of painting as Khosro. Likewise, he doesn’t have my understanding of music, nor the experience that Haleh and I have in scenography and architecture.

So, while participating artists are invited to express their opinions and react to other elements in the work, we try to go beyond the superficial levels of basic brainstorming and allow a great deal of freedom for deep artistic expression across multiple disciplines. That’s why I believe this work is not dialogical. It’s an imaginary space formed at the intersection of several individual monologues, and my role as artistic director is to facilitate the coexistence of these different voices.

Tableau I

We, the Drowning … Are Witnesses
Chasing the Sparkle

Tableau II

A Scene That Heats Up on Every Side

Tableau III

Salty Waters Keep Spreading
Dance of the Drowning
Metamorphing Beasts

Tableau IV

They Will Envy … or Curse Us
Monuments Compressed Into Rock
Soundless Eternal Language

PAN M 360: Could you briefly explain each painting in the program?

Roozbeh Tabandeh: Each painting represents a poem or group of poems by Sandeep. It’s as if we were creating an exhibition with a sound and spatial collage from fragments of the poems, merged with images from Khosro’s paintings, and presenting them in a performative space where sounds, images, lights, human beings, and objects coexist.

The first scene is the opening, with a reduced number of musicians. The viola joins the ensemble in “Chasing the Sparkle.” The ensemble is positioned at the edges of the space for this scene and occupies a vast area. Then, the musicians physically move to the center for Scene II (A Scene That Heats Up on Every Side) to form a concentrated circle in the middle of the stage. During this scene, the bell instrument extends the sound far around the ceiling. Scene III is a concentrated musical experience. There is no movement onstage, no video, no scenic elements, or changes in lighting. These 24 minutes present some of the most challenging musical ideas in the entire work. On a grand scale, Scene IV constitutes the culmination of the work. It encompasses the most intense moments of sonic and spatial complexity in the piece, as all elements lead to a final moment of defragmentation that ends with a sharp cut, where finally everything and everyone becomes “monuments compressed in the rock,” observed from the perspective of a distant observer, after millions of years.

Sandeep Bhagwati (poetry)
Khosro Berahmandi (painting)
Hadi Jamali (digital visual arts)
Roozbeh Tabandeh (composition, scenography)
Haleh Vedadi (scenography)
Juan Mateo Barrera (lighting design)
Mélanie Léonard (conductor)
Jeffrey Stonehouse (flutes)
Gwénaëlle Ratouit (clarinets)
Pamela D Reimer (piano)
Hubert Brizard (violin)
Viviana Gosselin (cello)
Lyne Allard (alto)
Pierre-Alexandre Maranda (double bass)
Charles Chiovato Rambaldo (percussions)
Virginie Mongeau (soprano)
Gabrielle Cloutier (alto)
Alasdair Campbell (baryton)

PAN M 360: How did you put together this considerable team?

Roozbeh Tabandeh: These are artists I’ve known for a long time. Khosro Berahmandi was the first artist I met when I moved to Montreal in 2015, and we’ve formed a close relationship ever since. I met Sandeep Bhagwati at Concordia, where I studied music composition. Over the many years I studied with him, worked with him, and traveled with him, he remains one of the most influential people in my artistic life. I’ve also known Hadi for several years. His close relationship with Khosro was also a significant asset in this project: the two visual artists have a deep understanding and respect for each other’s work. I first met Haleh in 1999 at architecture school in Iran. We grew up together 26 years ago! We studied architecture at the same school, founded our own architectural practice, which was active for about 15 years, got married, then immigrated to Montreal together, and worked on several productions over the years. Haleh and I share an extremely similar artistic aesthetic, or at least two complementary facets of the same vision.

I also have a very special relationship with Paramirabo. I’m friends with most of their musicians and have worked with them individually on various projects over the past ten years. But this is my first project with the full ensemble. And it’s just the beginning, I hope! Chants Libres has remained another partner in the project since the presentation of a first version of the work as part of OperActuel 2024. Their fluid structure allows various singers to join them and participate in different productions, such as Songs of the Drowning. Le Vivier has been with us since last year as a host organization, and we have developed a very positive and professional relationship during the production of this project.

PAN M 360: Will there be an audiovisual document from this performance?

Roozbeh Tabandeh: Indeed, the concert and rehearsals will be documented and made available to the public in the future.

Established since 1989, the 15-member chamber orchestra founded by Lorraine Vaillancourt under the banner Nouvel Ensemble Moderne (NEM) is launching its 2025-2026 season under the artistic and musical direction of Jean-Michaël Lavoie, who is in his second season at the helm of the NEM. Two programs are presented on as many evenings, on October 15 and 16. Under the shared direction of Jean-Michaël Lavoie and Lorraine Vaillancourt, the first program, entitled NEM and the Next Generation, highlights renowned composer Brian Current and features three premieres by composers Christina Volpini, Tom Lachance, and Francis Battah. The second program is dedicated to the accordion through works by Snezana Nesic and Denis Gougeon, and the main course is quite surprising: the performance of Igor Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, in an arrangement for chamber orchestra by François Vallières, violist with the NEM. This is why PAN M 360 presents this interview with Jean-Michaël Lavoie.

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From October 9 to 13, 2025, Les Rendez-vous ès Trad is holding its 34th edition in the National Capital Region. A 5-day fall gathering where storytelling, family activities, traditional songs, and jigging come together for young and old. Located at the magnificent Domaine des Maizerets, the event is a perfect opportunity to combine activities and living heritage during the Thanksgiving long weekend. We caught Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin, one of the co-directors of the organization, between two whirlwind tasks to learn a little more about the program and the atmosphere that can be experienced there during the long weekend.

This content was produced in partnership with La Vitrine

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PAN M 360: What was the idea behind creating the És Trad Festival?

Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin: The Centre for the Promotion of Living Heritage has existed since 1981. Initially, it was called Les Danseries de Québec, because at Laval University in the 1970s there was a group of young people who organized traditional dance evenings. Since they were all art students, they also appreciated storytelling and music, so they started thinking about an event that in 1991 saw the light of day under the name Contes et Violons. The idea of creating a highlight during the year continued to be renewed and now, it kind of kicks off our season; during the year, we organize many other dance evenings, concerts, activities, craft fairs and school tours. So, the idea was to perpetuate the original mandate by adapting it to modernity.

PAN M 360: What sets your event apart from other traditional music festivals?

Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin: First of all, it’s not just music, we also have a lot of dance and we also have the song component! (haha) What sets us apart from other festivals is that we don’t have a lot of concerts, we have a lot of activities! We move away from the typical logic of the passive consumer of culture, we’re really not into that. The public is encouraged to participate and everyone is an actor in their culture by coming. In traditional arts, there is this idea and this desire for community that is very, very strong. We are tightly knit as they say, so we try to instill this mentality. In addition to that, we try to push back a little the formats we see in other festivals, like for example Les Trios Éphémères where we draw, from the festival participants, three artists who don’t know each other and will create something together. We also have La Joute Chantée, which is like an improvisation match, but where the answers to the referee’s questions are traditional musical responses. And the audience gets to vote! It’s really great fun and you don’t see it at other festivals.

PAN M 360: Are you targeting a specific clientele in the Capitale-Nationale region?

Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin: We’re definitely happy to welcome people who already love living heritage and traditional arts, but we always find it’s an opportunity to reach out to new audiences. We’re based at the Domaine des Maizerets, which is a superb site and is in a residential area. So there are people who are close by and who are used to visiting the estate who also join us since our program is free. Children are always welcome; living heritage is very intergenerational, and so this year, we’ve set up three new activities for them, at ten o’clock in the morning, really designed for families. Our evening events are very varied: we have gangs from the university as well as retirees! (haha)

PAN M 360: What can people who have never attended the event expect?

Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin: They’re going to meet their future new best friends that they don’t know yet! (haha) I want to emphasize that, even for dance activities, it’s really normal to come alone. The events are designed so that everyone can find a partner on site! I remember, when I first set foot at the festival, someone introduced me to another person, who decided to go around introducing me to everyone (haha)! That’s the atmosphere: a big family!

PAN M 360: What kind of facilities are there on the site?

Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin: We have a large marquee, with a huge wooden floor for dancing. The marquee is at the back of the main building, and since it’s autumn and not so hot, we have a little heating. We also have a few activities taking place in the small chapel, including a private viewing and an introduction to screen printing, as well as the Chalet Lacroix where we hold workshops for the family, singing aperitifs, and late-night jams, where we play music until late.

PAN M 360: Tell us a little about the site chosen to host the festivities?

Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin: This is our third year at Domaine des Maizerets and we are really happy! The activity that concludes the festival each year is a singing hike in the forest, inspired by the time when people sang to cover long market journeys. Previously, we changed parks each year and then eventually we came to the Domaine, where we already sometimes held dance evenings in the main building. It is such a majestic place with its large trees and the community already had a lot of affection for the place so we thought we would contact them to establish the festival’s street frontage!

PAN M 360: What subgenres of music can we find during the weekend?

Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin: The two shows we have this year are Galant, tu perds ton temps, a quintet of traditional Quebec music sung a cappella with lots of harmonies and accompanied only by percussion, and the duo Alexis Chartrand, who is a baroque violinist who grew up in a traditional family and who presents a subtle Quebec repertoire accompanied by the American Nic Gareiss on the jig, or rather flat-footing. It’s a percussive dance originating from the Appalachians, which is much closer to the ground. This means that sometimes the jig becomes more melodic and the violin more percussive, so these are really two super interesting exchanges, well supported by the percussion, which we are very, very excited about and which can refresh the idea we have of traditional performances!

PAN M 360: Why choose early autumn as the event window?

Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin: Traditional music is all year round! (haha) Sometimes people have preconceived ideas, saying: “Ah! Traditional music is good during the holidays! It’s good on Saint-Jean!” aiming at these very specific moments as being those for living heritage, but we established ourselves right in the middle of the two, to remind everyone that there is no bad time. Also, in the Quebec City region, the festival calendar is so full that we are happy to have our little niche in the fall, during the long vacation when people are free.

PAN M 360: Is the team already thinking about the 2026 edition?

Cassandre Lambert-Pellerin: We have lots of great ideas for the next edition that we’re accumulating, guest suggestions and all that, but at the same time we’re also thinking about what’s going to happen in January since we’re also collaborating with Kaléidoscopes, so we can’t wait to be able to unveil all that. But obviously, since we’re two co-directors who took over the organization six years ago and we have a very part-time assistant who helps us a little, we’re getting ahead of ourselves to organize around 300 activities per year! (haha)

MORE INFO AND TICKETS HERE

Ahead of Vibrations Festival 2025, an event that will include a symposium in addition to several musical performances, we at PAN M 360 spoke to Joao Lenhari, the director of the UdeM Big Band. The ensemble is set to perform at the Outremont Theatre on October 16th and will celebrate its forty-fifth anniversary, with students and members of the department sharing the stage. Ahead of the show, we spoke about his plans for the future of the ensemble, some musicology, and a few career highlights.

TICKETS & INFOS HERE

PAN M 360 : The UdeM Big Band has been under your direction since 2023. What are some long term and short term goals for the ensemble? Is there anything you were particularly happy to have achieved with the ensemble already?

Joao Lenhari: Good question. What I can tell you is that my long-term project with the UdeM Big Band is to increasingly spark the interest of younger generations in playing in a big band. We all know about the rise of artificial intelligence in music, and I value human knowledge. At the university level, I want to continue the legacy of excellence at the Université de Montréal. To achieve this, short-term goals are essential, and my aim each year is to help students challenge themselves and grow together. Jazz is democratic — we’re always interacting and engaging with different musical perspectives. However, within a large group like a big band, we need to dedicate ourselves to achieving the best possible musical result. By doing this, I’m confident that all the students who have been part of the Big Band with me will carry this experience with them throughout their lives. That is my greatest goal as a professor: to prepare my students for success in the professional world and, most importantly, to teach them to conduct themselves properly and ethically.

Yes, I have some accomplishments that I’m very proud of since taking over the Big Band: the concerts with our international guests — who are major names in jazz — and the recording of the UdeM Big Band’s fifth album. In fact, I’d like to take this opportunity to say that you’ll soon hear news about this album, which pays tribute to the female singers of jazz. The album will be called Intemporel Vol. II – Hommage à la Voix Féminine. Stay tuned — it’s our surprise anniversary gift to the public.

PAN M 360: I see there are some great selections on the program, including arrangements of Monk, Gil Evans, and Benny Golson, as well as several composers from the Tin Pan Alley era. As a director and performer of big band music, what is your favourite era? Any favourite composers?

Joao Lenhari: I don’t have a specific period that I favor more. All periods are important and contain wonderful works. It’s worth mentioning that most of the arrangements we’re going to perform are essential for the musical development of young musicians. I chose them precisely to give students the opportunity to explore different styles of arranging and to encourage individual research in order to interpret the pieces as coherently as possible. With my knowledge, I can highlight specific interpretive elements from each era — things like vibrato, attack, blend, note endings, time feel, and many other aspects relevant to each period.

So, to briefly answer your question: I don’t have a preference for any particular era, but I can tell you that I am crazy about Thad Jones!!!

PAN M 360: When considering Brazilian musical styles and their influence on jazz, it seems that samba and bossa nova from the 1960s are the most cited examples. As someone well-versed in both jazz and Brazilian music, are there any other Brazilian styles that you think were important in the development of jazz? Are there styles you think people should be more familiar with?

Joao Lenhari: As everyone knows, Brazil is a vast country, so we can say there are many “Brazils” within Brazil. The styles that gained the most international recognition were samba — first with Carmen Miranda during the U.S. government’s “Good Neighbor” policy era — and later bossa nova, especially with the Getz/Gilberto album and the Carnegie Hall concert in 1962. I also believe that Milton Nascimento’s music is extremely important for the development of modern jazz, particularly due to his close relationship with Wayne Shorter. Hermeto Pascoal’s music, which is classified as “universal music,” also had a strong influence on jazz. As for musical styles, I believe that once we see music as something divine and elevated — not just a commercial product — everyone should open their minds and listen to as many styles as possible, absorbing the unique elements of each one. Ultimately, music is infinite, and everything we can absorb and appreciate is beneficial for everyone.

PAN M 360 : As a seasoned arranger of music, what are the best ways one can become effective and quick in their writing? What skills would you say are essential when writing for film and television?

Joao Lenhari: First of all, it’s essential to listen to a lot of music. I believe that learning music should be like learning a new language: we first learn the sounds of the words, then how sentences are built, and finally how to organize those sentences into a text. Writing an arrangement follows a similar process — first, we hear a sound in our minds, then we choose the elements we want to include, and finally we organize them.

I like to say that theory is a tool to help us express what we have inside in an organized way. But what truly matters for an arranger is what they carry within — their creativity, their ability to make a simple musical passage evoke emotion according to their vision.

I think this also answers the question about music for film or TV: you need to watch the scene many times and feel the emotion you want to convey through the music. Music is present in everything, and as an arranger, I enjoy bringing out small details that may be imperceptible but make a huge difference.

PAN M 360 : I couldn’t help but notice that you’ve accompanied Roberto Carlos on several occasions. It occurred to me that those less familiar with Latin music may not grasp his enormous popularity in Brazil and in Spanish-speaking Latin America. How would you explain his significance to someone unfamiliar with his work?

Joao Lenhari : You really did your research on me! haha I’ve had the great pleasure and honor of working with Roberto since 2008. My last tour with him was in the summer of 2024 in the United States. Since then, I haven’t been able to coordinate my schedule here in Montreal to travel to Brazil for the concerts. What I can say about Roberto is that he is simply the greatest singer in the history of Latin American popular music. You could say he’s the Frank Sinatra of Latin America — he’s sold more records than The Beatles in the region, which is incredible. I’ve had the privilege of traveling to more than 25 countries with him, and thanks to that work, I’ve met many people, experienced the culture of various places, and learned a lot about the traditional music of each country. I can highlight the live concert at the iconic Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro for more than 500,000 people and the show in Jerusalem in 2011, these two concerts were very special for me.

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The 24th edition of La Virée Trad takes place from October 10th to 12th for the final weekend of festivities of the season. This event will take place in Carleton-Sur-Mer, in the Gaspé Peninsula, serving as a springboard for traditional music and thus honoring our musical and cultural heritage. Young and old, local or international: everyone is welcome during the weekend where activities, conferences, performances, and dancing will take place between the sea and the mountains. We managed to chat for a few moments with its director, Samuel Téguel, to learn a little more about the program and the surprises we can expect during this long festive break.

This content was produced in partnership with La Vitrine

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PAN M 360: What makes La Virée Trad different?

Samuel Téguel: First, the season, since La Virée takes place on Thanksgiving weekend. It’s one of the last festivals of the season in Eastern Quebec. So, in a fall setting, it adds to the uniqueness of the event. Then, of course, the program: we stand out from other festivals where there is only song or pop. We also offer a lot of workshops, whether it’s an introduction to jigging or the violin, and the artists are very accessible. Finally, the atmosphere! You really have to experience the festival to understand the human energy that emanates from it! It’s a place of celebration, gathering, and exchange: between memory and today. La Grande Veillée is the perfect example: if you arrive alone, you will clearly leave having met a lot of people!
PAN M 360: What goal or mission did you have in mind when creating the Festival?

Samuel Téguel: Initially, the idea was really to extend the festive season, while focusing on the four pillars: cultural, social, financial, and environmental. We didn’t just want to have another event that would add to the overabundance of offers during the high season. We wanted an event that would bring people together and reflect who we are. And when we thought about it, we quickly realized that there was a gap in the dissemination and influence of traditional music and song.

PAN M 360: The festival has been running since 2001, more than 20 years, do you have a big team to coordinate everything?

Samuel Téguel: I would have liked to answer yes (haha)! In fact, the team leading the project is that of the multidisciplinary broadcaster, of which I have been the general manager for 25 years. It’s a broadcaster with a dual mandate: we operate a performance hall year-round and we also manage the La Virée Trad project. At the heart of all this are two permanent employees. That gives you an idea of the workload for two people!

PAN M 360: You developed this project in the region, in the enchanting setting of Carleton-Sur-Mer. Was this a way for you to boost the cultural offerings of the Gaspé?

Samuel Téguel: Yes, absolutely! And through the four pillars on which the mission is based, it’s not only the cultural sector that benefits from the positive spinoffs, but all communities: organic food producers and artisans too, since we’re setting up the largest public market in Eastern Quebec. You can fill your fridge with good things, embellish it with original creations, and fill your ears with musical heritage.
PAN M 360: What subgenres of music can we expect during the traditional weekend?

Samuel Téguel: This year, we will have the chance to welcome musicians from Quebec, Acadia, and Belgium. It’s one of the most artistically challenging editions: we will have the opportunity to see and hear Startijenn, who come from Brittany and have been touring their traditional music throughout Europe and Asia for 30 years. We will also have the Traverse project, which won the Opus Prize for Best Traditional Album in 2024. We also have Gentilcorum, winner of the 2024 Canadian Folk Music Award. On the Acadian side, we welcome La famille Leblanc, made up of the two parents and their three daughters who recently performed at the Festival Interceltique de l’Orient in Europe. We are also very excited to present La Sporée, a contemporary dance company presenting the show L’écho des racines, where jig and flamenco blend. Finally, to close the Saturday evening, we will have the rather special and always very appreciated passage of DJ DaOve, the project of Dâvi Simard where he puts all sorts of recent Quebec and Acadian folk pieces into the electro twister, always with the intention of honoring the original piece. This paints a small portrait of the diversity of the program that we can expect!
PAN M 360: Are you targeting a particular audience category with this event?

Samuel Téguel: I would say that the essence of trad is to reach an intergenerational audience. There are few musics that generate such enthusiasm among teenagers as well as people aged 80 and over. During La Grande Veillée, which I was talking about earlier, we have more and more young people participating and on the dance floor, we find the little ones, the parents in their thirties or forties and the still-spirited grandparents who come to dance a square set. It gives a beautiful and unusual mix that we rarely find elsewhere! On the other hand, we find ourselves with an audience coming from all over Quebec, the United States and Europe too! We have a very, very broad panel of festival-goers!
PAN M 360: Why did you choose autumn as your period of activity?

Samuel Téguel: Well, we wanted to extend the tourist season and since there are already a maximum number of events in the summer and during Labor Day, we thought about Thanksgiving weekend because the school community is on vacation and since it’s a long weekend, people have the freedom to move around.

PAN M 360: Are you already working on the 2026 selection?

Samuel Téguel: Yes, a little bit! (haha) Next year will be the 25th anniversary of the festival, so we’re working on preparing another great edition for you, but I can’t give you too many clues yet.

INFO AND TICKETS FOR LA VIRÉE TRAD HERE

Tama is the latest album by Kabey Konaté, an artist originally from Burkina Faso but raised in Ivory Coast. Based in Quebec since 2017, he collaborated with big names in Montreal’s reggae scene to complete this project. Among others, he worked with Ons Barnat, a leading figure in Montreal’s reggae scene, as well as Sol-Etienne Labess, who will accompany him on drums during his October 11 show at Club Balattou. Sandra Gasana spoke with Kabey a few days before his highly anticipated show.

For its 20th anniversary, Voces Boreales and organist Henry Webb are offering a major program, presented on Saturday, October 18, at the Église du Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighborhood.

Under the artistic direction of choral conductor and arranger Andrew Gray, who kindly answered questions from PAN M 360, this program will offer “a musical journey intertwining the quest for peace and humanity”…”A concert that plunges into the heart of the quest for meaning, love, and absolute beauty.”

Founded in 2006, the elite choir Voces Boreales has become

a staple of the Canadian music ecosystem. Two decades later, Voces Boreales has racked up a string of daring collaborations, including singer Karen Young, poet Hélène Dorion, the Bozzini Quartet, the Quasar saxophone quartet, and BradyWorks. Let’s celebrate the choir’s 20th anniversary season with this first program, which justifies conducting this interview.

Founded in 2006, the elite choir Voces Boreales has become

a staple of the Canadian arts scene. Two decades later, Voces Boreales has racked up a string of daring collaborations, including singer Karen Young, poet Hélène Dorion, the Bozzini Quartet, the Quasar saxophone quartet, and BradyWorks.

For its 20th anniversary, Voces Boreales and organist Henry Webb have put together an impressive program, which will be presented on Saturday, October 18, at the Église du Très-Saint-Nom-de-Jésus in the Hochelaga-Maisonneuve neighborhood.

It promises to be “a musical journey intertwining the quest for peace and humanity”…”A concert that plunges us into the heart of the quest for meaning, love, and absolute beauty.”

PAN M 360: What do you consider to be Voces Boreales’ main achievements, 20 years after its founding?

Andrew Gray : I feel that one of our main successes (apart from still being around after two decades – no small achievement given the ever-present struggles for financial support) is having remained relevant both artistically and culturally, whilst developing within our mission. Artistically speaking, we continue to support emerging artists in multiple ways (whether singers, composers or conductors), we maintain a programme of cultural outreach and education through workshops and masterclasses, as well as giving concerts outside of the metropole (Dorval, Pointe Claire, Repentigny, Valleyfield, La Prairie, Laval, Joliette, etc.). For two decades we have prioritized offering work to Montreal singers, helping them to develop their skills and experience with the ensemble and often go on to establish fine solo careers. This very much reflects the path that I myself took as a singer and then towards conducting.

We are also particularly proud that we were able to keep active and indeed grow the organisation during the pandemic with some clever project design and innovative performances. Many other organisations had to significantly reduce activities or even close their doors entirely during the same period. Branches of these projects continue to be in development for the years ahead.

Another achievement – and long may it continue(!) – is our record of Canadian repertoire programming, being able to regularly commission new works from Canadian and Quebec-based composers and to give premiere performances of many contemporary works not previously sung in Canada / Quebec / Montreal.

Voces Boreales has become an accepted and recognized part of ‘la fabrique culturelle’ with a growing number of collaborations with major arts organisations (eg. collaboration with SMCQ 2024, with CIOC 2025)

PAN M 360: Broadly speaking, how does this translate into the choice of works and the
ensemble’s preparation for your 20th anniversary?

Andrew Gray : One of the beauties of contemporary music is that it is both born and then breathes in real time, within our lifetimes. Most of the repertoire that we explore has been written recently or within living memory (with some exceptions of course). And so, for the 20th season large and widely embracing themes were important to me to not only include works that I have wanted to present for a long time, but also themes that could move and touch people across all humanity.

Schœnberg’s Friede auf Erden (Peace on earth), one of the most challenging choral masterpieces of the 20th century, is a work that I’ve wanted to present for a long time. It takes centre stage around which the rest of the programme is structured. There’s not enough time or space here to write about all the incredible elements of this 8 minute piece – but suffice it to say that it’s an absolute must, both for singers and audiences. The works that surround it include themes that touch us all : birth, childhood, family, death, forgiveness, redemption, and love. The dramatic, emotional and dynamic scale of these works take us from some very quiet, relaxing and restful places to immensely powerful and climactic experiences : perfectly reflecting the breadth of human experiences that unite us.

Our existence in the natural world and sharing this planet is another theme common to all. Here in Montreal the St Lawrence river is of dramatic importance – physically, historically, culturally. My family and I live on its banks and, as most Quebecers, we have explored it along its path, heading both west to the great lakes and beyond and to the east out into the ocean. Peter Anthony Togni’s Sea Dreams trilogy beautifully encapsulates the importance and greatness of major bodies of water and in commissioning him to add a fourth movement specifically about the Fleuve Saint Laurent seemed like the perfect starting point. Pieces from other Canadian composers as well as works from around the world will again showcase the group’s virtuosity, pay homage to its origins from 20 years ago (with a substantial Scandinavian work) as well help us explore this unifying central theme.

PAN M 360: Could you tell us a little about your partnership with the Canadian International Organ Competition?

Andrew Gray : Our collaboration with the CIOC came about very organically (pardon the pun!) and was set in motion with the programming of two stunning choral works that require organ ; Jonathan Dove’s Seek Him that maketh the seven stars, and Sir John Tavener’s Mother and Child. In working to include these pieces in an otherwise a cappella programme, speaking with Jean Willy-Kunz, the CIOC’s artistic director, was the obvious first step and we subsequently invited Henry Webb, a very talented young organist, to collaborate with us on this project. The CIOC have been incredibly helpful in the process as well as helping to organise access to the church and its amazing twin organs (one at each end) which Henry will use to great effect, playing them both from one single console.

PAN M 360: More specifically, let’s look at the program for October 18: could you please briefly comment on the choice of each work in the program and tell us the challenges posed with their performance?
Andrew Gray:
Arnold Schönberg (1874-1951) Friede auf Erden

– see above plus:

This is a work that, as Schœnberg himself said later in his life, was written at a time when he believed that ‘peace’ was an achievable goal. Disillusioned as he was by the realities of war, the work now represents the absolute requirement of us all to continue to believe in and strive for peace – globally, internationally and towards our neighbours in the streets of our own cities. And everything that is going on around the world at this very moment reinforces the importance of this message, this theme, the pertinence of this programme.
Sir John Tavener (1944-2013) Mother and Child

– Peace starts at home, in the love from a Mother’s gaze. It is all encompassing and ever guiding. Tavener’s music encapsulates the mystic, the awesome, the everlasting and refers to the ancient sanskrit word for ‘that from which everything comes and unto which everything shall return’.
Ramona Luengen (born 1959) O süsses Licht

Wonderful Canadian composer draws on ancient Gregorian chant combined with her own contemporary style to set texts from Edith Stein. Stein and her sister died in Auschwitz. To work for lasting peace one has to remember the lessons of the past.
Alexander L’Estrange (born 1972) The Prophet

Lebanese-American poet Kahlil Gibran believed in the unity of religion, welcomed people of all faiths into his home and wrote about the human condition in his work The Prophet. When I heard that my good friend (I am godfather to his youngest boy) and renowned composer Alexander L’Estrange had set some parts of the texts for an a cappella ensemble, I knew it would be a fit for this programme. His music is beautiful, incredibly sensitive to the text and highly accessible. It will also be the Canadian premier performance.
Florence B. Price (1887-1953) Adoration

A short work for organ in a quiet and meditative style is included to create a moment of calm and quiet reflection. Discovered just 15 years ago in Illinois amongst other lost works (it was written in 1951) the piece evokes a sacred devotion that reflects the nature of the composer’s deep faith. Listening to this work will allow space to reflect on the themes presented during the evening and enjoy the sounds of the Casavant organs.
Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933-2010) Veni Sancte Spiritus, op. 61

This relentlessly peaceful setting of the ‘Come Holy Spirit’ text is meditation in music. A gentle yet repetitively insistent prayer that includes such phrases as ; ‘Heal our wounds and pain, Bend what is hard and stubborn, Warm our cool and rigid hearts, Guide all those who are astray’. It seems to me that these sentiments are as important today as they ever were and show us the path to peace.

Slava Morotow Psalm 70
Canadian composer Slava Morotow was a featured guest at one of our emerging composer workshop weekends and his sketch of his setting of Psalm 70 was subsequently completed and we will give its premier performance at the concert. At the psalm’s centre a plea to stop those who wish to do us ill.

Jonathan Dove (1959 – ) Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars

Seek him that… turneth the shadow of death into the morning. Yea, the darkness shineth as the day, the night is light about me.

The theme of light, and star-light in particular, is an endless source of inspiration for composers and is another unifying theme for all. The anthem begins with a musical image of the night sky, a repeated organ motif of twinkling stars that sets the choir wondering who made them. The refrain ‘Seek him’ starts in devotional longing but is eventually released into a joyful dance, finally coming to rest in serenity. It’s a message of unity and hope.

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The music industry is dominated by the desire for independence, reflected in the ever-growing population of solo artists. It is extremely refreshing to see a band in its truest form, built on shared taste and collaboration. There is an undeniable chemistry between the members of Wolf Alice, who have now been together for over a decade. Their performance was well polished, but had space for improvisation and for the bandmates to simply be friends playing their music. If there’s one thing Wolf Alice can be commended for, it is the power and command they hold over a room. There was a comfortable intimacy between the crowd and the stage at Théâtre Beanfield, with the band welcoming a fan onto the stage to sing “Safe From Heartbreak.” This was very touching, given that it’s not a common occurrence. The fan just asked if she could and the band said, “yeah why not.” The set was a beautiful mix of songs from their most recent album, The Clearing, and old classics, as well as varying levels of energy from rock anthems like “Play The Greatest Hits” and “Formidable Cool” during which frontwoman Ellie Rowsell shouts into a megaphone and crawls around the stage whipping her hair, to slower numbers like “Play It Out.”

The stage was adorned with a glittery curtain and disco ball, and gave a timeless glam rock vibe, which matches well with the sound of their latest album. Ellie was decked out in a retro leotard with knee high boots and stood in a power stance for the majority of the set. She is a total powerhouse and really maintains her position as a woman of rock. Bass player Theo Ellis also did his fair part in riling the crowd up, pumping his arms at the front of the stage, he has total frontman energy, too. PAN M 360 met with the Wolf Alice band members before the show to discuss the influences and creative process behind the album The Clearing.

PAN M 360: The album has a very timeless, clean sound. Paired with the overall aesthetic, it’s as if it could have come straight out of the ’70s. Would you say it was inspired by this time period specifically?

Theo Ellis: I think we had some inspiration from the ’70s, yes, and certainly some key albums that came out in that decade. We loved George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass. We’ve said a few times that we love parts of Fleetwood Mac’s catalogue. We love the sonics and how there’s not too much going on; the song just sort of shines through. We also love Alex G, we love Haim. Lots of modern stuff too.

PAN M 360: Compared to your past albums, it is far more sonically sparse, fewer elements going on. Was that something you were focusing on?

Theo Ellis: Yeah, it’s something we wanted to try. I think a lot of times, making things feel exciting and vital in the studio is by doing something new. And yeah, I think there is a certain way of recording that we feel comfortable with and by trying to see how good we can make the song, with using less, was an exciting constraint for us. And I think that principle leads you to the ’70s because they do lean more on the rudimentary part doing the work.

PAN M 360: How has your musical taste changed since Blue Weekend?

Theo Ellis: I was appreciating a lot of organic instrumentation straight after Blue Weekend. I started listening to John Prine and Townes Van Zandt a lot.

PAN M 360: When you’re writing, are you thinking more about how a song is going to sit in the record or about how it’s going to translate to the live performance?

Ellie Rowsell: I think we used to just think about the record, and I think this time, I thought about the live version a lot more. We really wanted to not feature too many things that we wouldn’t be able to replicate live.

PAN M 360: Are there some non-musical influences that helped with the world-building for the album? Movies, cities, smells, fabrics, etc.

Theo Ellis: I suppose “All That Jazz” by Bob Fosse keeps coming up in relation to the “Bloom Baby Bloom” music video. It’s a mixture of very natural elements, like going for a walk in the woods, but also putting on sparkles.

Joel Amey: I’ve just been wearing blue denim jeans for the last eight months. For the last album, I felt like I was constantly ironing suits. I decided that this was our denim album, our denim phase.

Photos by Elizabeth Dovolis

PAN M 360: Could you briefly explain each painting in the program?

PAN M 360: How did you put together this considerable team?

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