Interviews

On February 8, 2026, at Bourgie Hall in Montreal, the 29th Opus Awards Gala will take place and will honour artists competing in 33 categories, covering classical music, jazz, world music, and traditional Quebecois music. For the past few years, the Gala has been innovating with a formula praised by artists and the public, in addition to offering former winners and nominees the opportunity to perform in front of an in-person audience and online (the ceremony is broadcast live). I spoke with the artists who will be performing, Gentiane MG, Marie Nadeau-Tremblay, Elisabeth St-Gelais and Jean-Félix Mailloux with the Cordâme ensemble. I asked them what it feels like to receive an Opus Award or to be nominated, and if it has an impact on an artist’s career. Here is Elisabeth St-Gelais (for the other artists, follow the links below).

DETAILS AND TICKETS

LINK FOR WEBCAST (FEBRUARY 8, 3 PM)

INTERVIEW WITH PIANIST GENTIANE MG

INTERVIEW WITH VIOLONIST MARIE NADEAU-TREMBLAY

INTERVIEW WITH JEAN-FÉLIX MAILLOUX, OF CORDÂME

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE OPUS AWARDS

https://youtu.be/HK-ygpUz4-g

On February 8, 2026, at Bourgie Hall in Montreal, the 29th Opus Awards Gala will take place and will honour artists competing in 33 categories, covering classical music, jazz, world music, and traditional Quebecois music. For the past few years, the Gala has been innovating with a formula praised by artists and the public, in addition to offering former winners and nominees the opportunity to perform in front of an in-person audience and online (the ceremony is broadcast live). I spoke with the artists who will be performing, Gentiane MG, Marie Nadeau-Tremblay, Elisabeth St-Gelais and Jean-Félix Mailloux with the Cordâme ensemble. I asked them what it feels like to receive an Opus Award or to be nominated, and if it has an impact on an artist’s career. Here is Marie Nadeau-Tremblay (for the other artists, follow the links below).

DETAILS AND TICKETS

LINK FOR WEBCAST (FEBRUARY 8, 3 PM)

INTERVIEW WITH SOPRANO ELISABETH ST-GELAIS

INTERVIEW WITH PIANIST GENTIANE MG

INTERVIEW WITH JEAN-FÉLIX MAILLOUX, OF CORDÂME

DISCOVER MORE ABOUT THE OPUS AWARDS

https://youtu.be/kwJ0bF5JIa4

Under the direction of Matthias Maute, the ArtChoral Ensemble delves into the Jewish choral tradition in relation to Western cultures. Their album, Hallelujah, has just been released on the Atma Classique label and will be performed this Tuesday, February 3rd, at noon in Le 9edu concert hall at the Eaton Centre.

ArtChoral will welcome for this occasion the cantor Gideon Zelermyer, who distinguished himself ten years ago in some songs of You Want It Darker, the last offering of the late Leonard Cohen which earned the cantor international renown.

The experience of the album Hallelujah and this intercultural relationship between Jewish and Western cultures produced polyphonic songs that are both close to the sacred music of the Christian world and also to Jewish vocal traditions, formerly monophonic and then converted to polyphony from the 18th century.

Thus, this opus reveals sacred and secular songs, works composed in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries by well-known Jewish artists such as Leonard Cohen, Leonard Bernstein or Kurt Weill, to which are added those of renowned composers in the more specialized world of Jewish choral singing – Salomone Rossi (Italy), Fromental Halévy (France), Giacomo Meyerbeer (Germany, France) or Rona Nadler (Canada).

Reached on the eve of the concert, Matthias Maute explains this material from the recording programme of the 9th as well as the works also on the programme (and not recorded) by Jaap Nico Hamburger (Montreal composer), Ernest Bloch, Naftali Herstik (mentor of Gideon Zelemyer) and Raymond Goldstein.

TICKETS AND INFO HERE

Publicité panam

PAN M 360: What are the characteristics of these composers? How do they differ from Western sacred chant, for example? Where do the differences lie? It’s not so obvious, is it?

Matthias Maute : No, because generally, it’s part of Western music. Whether it’s Lutheran, Catholic, or European Hebrew, we immediately recognize ourselves in it. For example, Salomone Rossi writes motets with Hebrew texts. Discovering his work, you realize that it was once very difficult, even dangerous, to be Jewish in Italy, to live or work there. So, it was revolutionary in itself that Salomone Rossi’s music could express Hebrew texts. That’s where the Hebrew influences really emerge. That’s where this album truly finds its meaning, with the difficulty of living in the background.

This music is very expressive, and in a very different way from what Leonard Bernstein offers, who stands out for his choice of themes, the depth of his symphonies, or in this Mass: Almighty Father. For Bernstein, Jewish identity is a quest for self. And composers like Giacomo Meyerbeer are known and appreciated by music lovers of all Judeo-Christian faiths.

PAN M 360: But if we isolate the music from the text, it’s not so different from the rest of European music, is it?

Matthias Maute : There are differences, but we can still find our way around because we’re more familiar with this music than we realize. There are many familiar elements, just as we know Italian, French, or Indian cuisine well. The pieces by composer and singer Rona Nadler are expressed in Yiddish, others in Hebrew or Old German. Fromental Halévy expresses a Hebrew language reflecting sacred Jewish music in 19th-century France.

We did more of this kind of piece where a cantor is accompanied by us; it was new for us, for me as conductor, as well as for the choir members.

PAN M 360: Let’s move on to more modern pieces. Take Lost in the Stars by Kurt Weill, a German Jew who composed music influenced by modern European music and American jazz of the time. You also have Leonard Bernstein’s Mass and Leonard Cohen’s well-known anthem, Hallelujah, arranged by the South African choirmaster André van der Merwe. So this repertoire is very diverse! You’ve also chosen modern pieces from the, in quotes, popular repertoire, but not as popular as one might think, because Bernstein was a great conductor and a great classical composer. The same goes for Kurt Weill, who wrote a lot of music for the theatre, but also for a repertoire that could be described as sophisticated. Or Leonard Cohen, an eminent Jewish artist of Montreal origin.

Matthias Maute : We wanted to reflect the vast scope of the Jewish universe; it’s not just one thing or one element. So I really appreciate this variety, but beyond that, the incredible quality across all the genres highlighted in this album. Whether it’s secular or sacred music, Jewish composers and musicians have been able to showcase incredible talent. In this album, we see the range of musical colors that the composers have found, inspired in part by their own culture.

PAN M 360: Why did you choose to do this, Matthias? You are of German origin, you are not Jewish, and we know the atrocious history of the Jews in Germany. So?

Matthias Maute : We know that Germany was terrible for the Jews, and this humbly led me to find ways to rebuild a bridge between our cultures, at least musically. So we began a collaboration with Montreal cantor Gideon Zelermyer, with a spirit of respect and a hope that all cultures can remain true to themselves without being overshadowed by those of their neighbors.

PAN M 360: In your case, it’s a way of Truth and reconciliation with Jewish culture.

Matthias Maute : For me, absolutely. When you see what’s happening in the world, it’s terrifying, but you have to start somewhere. So, with the Caprice ensemble, we work a lot with musicians from different cultures, musicians from Palestine or Lebanon, for example. We establish contacts on all sides. I think that’s important because music can truly reach everyone, and it’s very important in our world today to find ways, to find harmony among all these cultures that are at war.

PAN M 360: And we mustn’t forget that, in each of these cultures, there are many human beings who are completely opposed to the conflicts that afflict them. Who instead want peace and reconciliation.

Matthias Maute :  It’s really not easy to convince people with this peaceful approach. But we’re actively working with Caprice and ArtChoral, reaching out in every direction to create lasting connections, a platform for understanding that could ultimately work for everyone. Because we have no other choice but to live in peace.

PAN M 360: Indeed, war is no longer conceivable as it has been since the dawn of human civilization. With the power of today’s weapons, war becomes an existential threat to humanity rather than a means of domination.

Matthias Maute : And that’s why we’ve invited Gideon Zelermyer to sing with us for this concert on the 9th floor. The cantor sang with the Shaar Hashomayim choir on the album You Want It Darker, Leonard Cohen’s last album, which earned him international acclaim and a Grammy Award by association. We just rehearsed Hallelujah the day before our concert on Tuesday, February 3rd, at noon.

Cantor Gideon Zelermyer

Sons of Arrakis, a Montreal-based stoner rock band whose songs are inspired by the universe of Dune, will perform this February 14 at Les Enfants du Rock for their only Montreal date of 2026. Frédéric Couture, the band’s founder, sits down with us for an interview where past, present, and future collide.

PANM 360: Hi Fred. Bless the maker.

Frédéric Couture : Bless the maker and his water. I always say it after our first song when we play live.

PANM 360: Being a Dunehead myself, I am very happy and proud to know that a Quebec band is making excellent music inspired by this universe that is so dear to my heart.

Frédéric Couture : Thanks Simon, we’re really glad you’re coming along for the ride.

A soundtrack for a world in decline.

PANM 360: The universe of Dune, rich in ecological reflections and analyses of authoritarian mechanisms, resonates strongly with contemporary issues. At what point in your journey did you discover Frank Herbert’s work, and why has it become central to your musical project?

Frédéric Couture: I discovered Dune around the age of 25, at a time when I was searching for a real direction for a new musical project. It was my father who introduced me to it. It was a shock. I quickly felt that this universe was a broken mirror of our society—a subtle yet powerful way of exploring power, geopolitics, authoritarianism, social dynamics, and ecology. Dune became a lens through which I could reflect on our times without naming them directly. From there, everything fell into place: the concept and identity of Sons of Arrakis. As for the sound, I continued in the vein of the band The Hazytones, with which I was heavily involved on their first album, before deciding to leave and start the Sons of Arrakis project.

PANM 360: The titles of your songs include references that seem to draw from the six volumes of the saga. What is your favorite book in the saga and why?

Frédéric Couture: The very first Dune. It is a seminal work, incredibly rich, and each reading reveals new layers of meaning to me.

It is also in this first volume that we truly grasp the vastness of the universe, particularly through the appendices, which, in my opinion, are essential for understanding the issues and interrelationships in such a complex world.

In terms of adaptation, Denis Villeneuve’s work is exceptional in my opinion. He has managed to capture the grandeur, slowness, and mystical weight of the universe without betraying it. But it leaves me with a bitter aftertaste that Villeneuve had to make a blockbuster to appeal to the general public. It’s still clearly the best adaptation to date… even though, deep down, I would have loved to see what Jodorowsky could have done with his project. I think I would have been sold.

Existing in the midst of the crowd

PANM 360: You describe your sound as Melange Rock or Cinematic Sci-Fi Rock, a fusion of heavy riffs and sci-fi atmospheres. How did this identity assert itself or transform between Volume I and Volume II, particularly after your tours in Canada, Mexico, and the United States?

Frédéric Couture : Initially, the idea of Melange Rock or Cinematic Sci-Fi Rock came mainly from a need to differentiate ourselves from the stoner/doom/desert rock niche. We didn’t want to be just another heavy riff band: we wanted to tell stories, create images, build a universe. In fact, it was critics who started calling us Melange Rock, and we thought it summed up what we were trying to do. On Volume I, it was still very instinctive and raw.

The tours in Canada, Mexico, and the United States really shaped us: we understood how these songs come alive on stage and what moves the audience.

With Volume II, we pushed the cinematic aspect even further: transitions between songs, a more conceptual approach to the album, live passages with excerpts from the novel, blue lighting, a more immersive atmosphere.

We wanted the show to be a real journey, not just a series of songs. During our tour of Europe in September and October 2025, we really managed to strike a balance between pure, hard rock and the immersive aspect we want to infuse into our shows.

PANM 360: When listening, you can hear a mix of influences ranging from the hypnotic side of Tool, epic solos and riffs reminiscent of Iron Maiden, Pink Floyd-style psychedelia, Black Sabbath-style bass, to more direct accents evoking Metallica. What musical influences shape the soundscape and identity of Sons of Arrakis?

Frédéric Couture: Our influences are many, but at the core of everything is the quest for the riff. We’re just as into the hypnotic side of Tool as we are the epicness of Iron Maiden, the psychedelic atmosphere of Pink Floyd, the heaviness of Black Sabbath, and the more straightforward impact of Metallica.

There’s also all the proto-metal heritage from the late ’60s and early ’70s, bands like Mountain. The ’70s prog scene, like Yes, also influenced us, especially in terms of slightly more complex, prog-inspired song structures.

We’re also heavily inspired by The Sword (Age of Winters, Apocryphon), Sleep, High On Fire, Mastodon, and that whole heavy, massive, organic vibe. Personally, Priestess and Mickey Hepner were huge influences for me—I even had the chance to meet them.

In the end, what unites us is this obsession with the riff and the desire to make music that tells a story, that hits you, that transports you.

Jim Laflamme de GOREPUNK CO.

PANM 360: I have to take this opportunity to compliment you on the visual identity of the project. The visuals are really well done.

Frédéric Couture: Thank you. We always surround ourselves with people who really understand that dimension. For the albums, it’s Alex Goulet who handles all the visuals, and for show posters, it’s Jim Laflamme from GOREPUNK CO. We stay loyal to our collaborators because they understand where we want to go. They get the idea, the concept, the aesthetic, and above all, the spirit of Dune. Everything has to tell the same story, both in the music and the visuals.

[Poster from Jim Laflamme – GOREPUNK CO.]

PANM 360: Finally, what foresight or visions do you have regarding your February 14 show at Les Enfants du Rock, as part of the Taverne Tour?

Frédéric Couture: We’re expecting an intense, almost ritualistic evening. It’s our only Montreal show of the year, so we really want to make it count with a true, heavy, and sincere desert ceremony. After that, we’ll be heading to Europe at the end of July and early August, playing festivals in Germany like Krach am Bach, Rock im Wald, Blue Moon, Trafostation 61, and also in Austria at Sauzipf Rocks. At the same time, we’re working hard on Volume III, which will strike a balance between Volume I and Volume II: rawer, more intense, still cinematic, and better structured.

Little scoop: we’ll be seeing you in Montreal on January 22, 2027, for the album release. Stay tuned!

Sons of Arrakis hit the stage on February 14, 2026, at Les Enfants du Rock as part of the Taverne Tour, and return to Montreal on January 22, 2027, for the release of Volume III.

[Tickets are here]

👉 15 things you definitely can’t miss at the Taverne Tour

Photo : Rémi Deschênes

She had dazzled us before, but the program featuring her as both soprano and maestra with the performance of La Voix humaine in 2024 blew us all away. Phenomenal! Two years later, the great Canadian artist (based in France) Barbara Hannigan returns to captivate us with a completely different program, more precisely a pair of programs highlighting works conducive to dance, imbued with the popular music of the different eras in which they were composed: Joseph Haydn’s Symphony No. 90, Hob. I: 90, Aaron Copland’s Dance Symphony, Kurt Weill’s Lost in the Stars and Yukali, and Jacques Offenbach’s Gaîté parisienne.

Wednesday’s program will be performed according to established norms, while Thursday’s program promises to be more eclectic, with the same works interspersed with dance and popular songs from the European repertoire and the Great American Songbook. Under the direction of Barbara Hannigan, the OSM will also welcome contralto Marie-Nicole Lemieux, whose role will be expanded on the second evening, taking center stage in front of the dance floor!

Reached in Paris before crossing the Atlantic, Barbara Hannigan grants PAN M 360 this generous interview.

PAN M 360: You’re here for two different events with a relatively similar program: the first is a concert and the second is a dance event. Interesting!

Barbara Hannigan : Yes, two different events. The first program is indeed a bit more serious, the second program is a bit more fun, presented in a different context, because there will be dance. So on the first evening, I’m performing Aaron Copland’s Dance Symphony, which is an extraordinary piece that the composer wrote while studying in Paris. He had seen Fritz Lang’s film Nosferatu at the cinema. And he was so inspired by this film that he composed ballet music conceived around zombie characters. We also have Haydn’s Symphony No. 90, which is super fun, brilliant, very spectacular, very virtuosic for the performers. Finally, we’re presenting Jacques Offenbach’s Gaîté Parisienne and two works by Kurt Weill, Yukali and Lost in the Stars. And on the second evening, we have my special selection of Gaîté Parisienne again, very joyful but also very soulful. There will also be champagne! It’s a wonderful program and I’m very excited that Marie-Nicole Lemieux is participating.

PAN M 360: What will she sing?

Brbara Hannigan: She won’t be singing much in the first evening’s program. For the second program, which is more focused on dance (Lambada, Moonlight Serenade, I Could Have Danced Last Night, etc.), she’ll be doing more than just accompanying me on the songs from Gaîté Parisienne. I’ve always wanted to sing with her; I’m just being a bit of a fangirl!  

PAN M 360: Parisian gaiety and the Great American Songbook, a kind of mashup between Paris and New York!

Barbara Hannigan : Yes, super fun! There will even be dance classes at the Maison symphonique! The world will be able to dance and drink champagne; it will be a wonderful evening. It’s so cool that the OSM put all this together.

PAN M 360: This is very promising, and you are the ideal person to embody both classical and popular, French and American traditions! You have lived in Europe for several years (currently in Paris) and you are a perfectly bilingual Canadian. So tell us a little about Parisian gaiety.

Barbara Hannigan : Actually, I started doing the Gaîté té four years ago. It’s great music, really virtuosic for the orchestra. But it’s also joyful. I like serious music, I like singing in operas where I die—it’s really fun to die on stage. But it’s also fun to express joy on stage! And then you really feel like you’re in Paris in the 1920s.

PAN M 360: In short, it looks very different from your fabulous performance of La voix humaine (Poulenc/Cocteau) where you sang and conducted the OSM simultaneously!

Barbara Hannigan : Yes, it was a fantastic stay in Montreal two years ago. After the first night, social media exploded, and we had a full house the next day. I restaged this piece a few months ago at La Scala in Milan, and it was another smash hit! Many people there came two nights in a row; I’m really proud of that performance! It was a lot of work to achieve, but the result is thrilling. However, I didn’t want to come back with a similar offering; I wanted another special, spectacular event. I have to maintain my reputation, haha!

PAN M 360: And this time, you achieve a balance between “serious” music and pop music that has become a classic in its genre. French and American songs come from popular culture, but… the world

Barbara Hannigan : Exactly. I would add that even Haydn, in his time, aimed for this balance, as he was very involved in popular music.

PAN M 360: Indeed, he also did vaudeville and operetta.

Barbara Hannigan : Yes, he did theatre and opera. Yes, yes. And in Aaron Copland’s play, I would point out that there are also many jazz influences in the work on the program.

PAN M 360: Aaron Copland and Kurt Weill (who was also influenced by jazz) can indeed work very well in the same program. Did you bring these concert pieces together with the OSM’s artistic direction?

Barbara Hannigan : I designed the first program myself. For the second program, the people at the OSM told me they wanted to present a very dynamic concert, so we had many conversations to define its direction. And we chose new material for this Thursday’s program, material I had never used before in this original program. We also have new arrangements; it’s a collaborative effort. We’re going to have a lot of fun. Some of the musicians might even sing! I don’t think I’ll ask them to dance, though (laughs). This orchestra is versatile and open-minded; it’s going to be fantastic!

PAN M 360: Regarding the evolution of your brilliant career, I would like to ask how you achieve a balance between operatic singing, conducting, and artistic direction? Isn’t artistic direction also very important in your approach?

Barbara Hannigan : Indeed, I’m not just a conductor and singer; it’s more than that. I create my own programs, I have my own seasons, and I participate in numerous festivals. Last week, I was in Gothenburg, Sweden, for two weeks. I had three different programs in those two weeks, including a recital with pianist Bertrand Chamayou. I sang, I conducted, and I even gave a solo recital. It was like a mini-festival. I prefer to take this approach rather than coming to Montreal for just one program and then leaving. I prefer to create an event around my visit.

PAN M 360: In 2025, you won the prestigious Polar Prize in Scandinavia, a huge international recognition for your artistic excellence. Another important milestone in your brilliant career!

Barbara Hannigan : For me, it was incredible to be alongside jazz pianist Herbie Hancock, and also Queen guitarist Brian May and drummer Roger Taylor, who also won this award. We were together for three days of events surrounding the prize! It was very special, a very important milestone in my life, a kind of Nobel Prize for music. This great honor gave me even more confidence in my abilities. I thought to myself, after all, I deserve it, haha!

PAN M 360: What’s so cool is that you, a great artist of the classical world, have rubbed shoulders with icons of rock and jazz, three musical cultures that coexist better than we think.

Barbra Hannigan : Yes, it’s incredible, I’m so happy!

PAN M 360: We wish you many more years of continued masterful work, and PAN M 360 will be in the audience this week! I’m coming on the second night!

Barbara Hannigan : You’re going to love it! We can then dance in the lobby!

PAN M 360 : Absolutely! 

WEDNESDAY PROGRAM

Artists

Barbara Hannigan, conductor and soprano

Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto

Works

Joseph Haydn, Symphonie no 90, Hob. I : 90 (24 min)

Aaron Copland, Dance Symphony (20 min)

Intermission (20 min)

Jacques Offenbach, Gaîté parisienne (arr. M. Rosenthal), excerpts (25 min)
Opening
I. Allegro brillante
II. Polka
XIII. Valse lente
IX. Tempo di marcia
X. Valse moderato
XI : Vivo
Barcarolle
XV. Allegro
XVI. Cancan
XX. Allegro
XXI. Allegro
XXII. Vivo

Kurt Weill, Youkali (6 min)

Kurt Weill, Lost in the Stars (4 min)

Thursday Program: Dance with Barbara Hannigan!

What awaits you:

– 7:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.: Free dance class at the Antonia-Nantel Community Center with professional dancers (tango, waltz and foxtrot).

– 8:30 p.m.: Concert.

– 9:45 p.m. to 11 p.m.: Performances and dance floor open to all with music and entertainment for a most festive evening!

On January 5, 2026, the Orchestre classique de Montréal (OCM) will welcome soprano Marie-Josée Lord. The artist from Trois-Rivières will sing Andre Previn’sHoney and Rue song cycle for the occasion. A work that presents certain challenges, as the singer explains in the interview I conducted with her. It should be noted that the OCM concert, under the baton of Kalena Bovell, is being offered on the occasion of Black History Month. There will also be works by Afro-descendant composers on the program: Joseph Boulogne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges (Concertante Symphony in C major, op. 9 no 1); William Grant Still (Mother and Child) and Florence Price (Symphony for Strings in G major). The occasion was perfect to catch up with Marie-Josée on her life since the pandemic and her upcoming projects.

DETAILS AND TICKETS

PanM360: Hello Marie-Josée. What’s new in your life?

Marie-Josée Lord: I have been teaching for a year now, in a music-focused school in Shawinigan. I have to get up at 5 a.m. every morning, which is new for me!

PanM360: And all this in parallel with the gradual resumption of concert activities and the career of a singer. Which brings us to this concert on February 5 in Montreal. You will be singing Andre Previn’s vocal cycle, Honey and Rue. What can you tell us about it?

Marie-Josée Lord: It’s a cycle of songs written from poems by Nobel laureate in literature Toni Morrison. It’s a cycle I sang in 2024 with the Nova Scotia Symphony. I had to learn it for the occasion.

PanM360: What kind of challenge does this work pose?

Marie-Josée Lord: It’s quite difficult. Previn’s music is very influenced by jazz. The rhythm is irregular and the harmonies are complex. It “rubs” a lot, from major to minor, etc.

PanM360: You’ve already sung with the OCM a few times, right?

Marie-Josée Lord: Yes, 3 or 4 times. In 2017, I believe, the last one?

PanM360: You are gradually getting back into the swing of things on stage. What other projects do you have ahead of you?

Marie-Josée Lord: I created a show about twenty years ago, Chants de mon pays (Songs of My Country), in tribute to Quebec poets and lyricists. These are the lyrics of songs that were part of my childhood and that I discovered as I grew up. You know, we do German lied, French melody, etc., but in Quebec, we have that quality also. Texts and melodies that talk about the country, the people, the cold. A poetry that has been carried overseas, but that we don’t sing about in a lyrical way. I like to make this version of our Francophone roots known, landlocked and alive in America. It’s not a new project, but I admit that I dream of recording it one day. The arrangements by François Vallières, which adorn my voice with a string quartet, are very beautiful.

PanM360: Opera? The Recital?

Marie-Josée Lord: Yes, I really want to go back to the opera. When the pandemic broke out, I was getting ready to sing Violetta (La Traviata) in Montreal. It was postponed three times, then cancelled. For me, it was a tough blow. It was my dream to sing that. For the recital, it’s also an idea that has been with me. I would like to build a program around Honey and Rue, and explore a repertoire related to that.

PanM360: You also told me about a conference project?

Marie-Josée Lord: Yes. They’re quite ready. Three conferences that I title My Voice, My Therapist. It’s partly autobiographical. I talk about the search for authenticity through my voice. For example, for me, it was quite an intense battle. I had to tame that voice and, consequently, myself afterward. In my youth, my voice had a roundness that inhabited a body that didn’t seem ready to receive it. It took me years of searching to find my identity there. It was a slow process, a journey to fill that psychological gap. In the conferences I talk about that, about the fact that my voice and I, for a while, were more enemies than friends. I think it can resonate with other people, even if their case doesn’t involve singing. I think everyone can relate to it in one way or another. The search for authenticity, the difficulties related to the maturation of the body, especially as a young girl, etc.

PanM360: It’s an open door to your intimacy…

Marie-Josée Lord: Yes. That’s maybe why it takes me some time yet to go public with it. In theory, the conferences are ready. But I spend my time correcting things, fine-tuning….

PanM360: And then teaching, does that inspire you?

Marie-Josée Lord: I would really like to open my workshop, my singing studio. I discovered that I really enjoy giving master classes!

PanM360: In any case, you don’t lack ideas.

Marie-Josée Lord: These are things that have been on my mind for a long time, but I didn’t think I was old enough! …

PanM360: Thank you for allowing us to get to know these facets of yourself a little better.

This isn’t their first visit to Montreal. In fact, Grèn Sémé already played at Club Balattou a few years ago. But this time, they’ll be there to present their latest EP, Maloya Gazé, as well as tracks from their previous albums and several songs from their upcoming album. In short, they’re preparing an unforgettable evening, dedicated to maloya, a musical style originating from Réunion Island, born out of slavery, also known as the “blues” of the Indian Ocean. For their show scheduled for February 14, 2026, at Balattou, the Grèn Sémé group will be in full band, meaning there will be five of them on stage, accompanied by their sound engineer, and they fully intend to get us dancing on this Valentine’s Day evening. Our journalist Sandra Gasana spoke with Carlo De Sacco, the group’s leader, live from Reunion Island as they prepare to experience a thermal shock in the middle of a Canadian winter.






The 29th edition of the Opus Awards Gala holds a special significance for PanM360. Of course, as every year, we follow with attention the unveiling of the winners, artists that we love and whose activities we cover as often as possible. But, this year, PanM360 will be, indirectly, celebrated through the awarding of the Tribute Prize to our founder and colleague Alain Brunet. Never, until now, had a music journalist received this award. The occasion was perfect to talk about the Gala, the 2026 programming, and the rather complex general logistics of establishing a list of candidates. Welcome behind the scenes of the Opus Awards, with General Manager Dominic Trudel.

INFORMATION AND TICKETS

LIST OF FINALISTS

LINK FOR WEBCAST

https://youtu.be/4W30z28Vjek

For Igloofest 2026, Mathieu Constance is once again at the helm of programming for the four consecutive weekends taking place at Quai Jacques-Cartier until February 7. As a media partner of Igloofest, PAN M 360 presents the artistic recommendations of its lead architect each week of the event, highlighting a top pick for each program.

PAN M 360: We’re now on weekend 3! It’s January 29th.

Mathieu Constance:  Hamza, on January 29th. We managed to pull off this show outside of Piknic a few years ago. Hamza is perhaps one of the biggest French rappers in the world right now. Being able to bring him to Igloo, I think it’s going to be something really special and also something on a scale we don’t necessarily see every year. A must-see, that’s for sure.

PAN M 360: And that caps off a very big weekend. Very good catch!

Mathieu Constance: It’s going to be a hip-hop night! High Klassified, Manaré, Yaya Labae…  

PAN M 360: Friday, January 30th now.

Mathieu Constance: The one you absolutely have to see is A-Trak. It’s incredible to have DJ Snake on the lineup, an artist I’ve wanted for ages!

And as a Montrealer, being able to produce A-Trak in this context, knowing who he is and all the accolades he’s received, is truly special. All the impact he’s had, winning the DMC Championship at 15, putting everyone around him on the map, always working hard since his beginnings—more or less thirty years (since his teens) of a career. I’m really looking forward to seeing what he’ll do in this perhaps less conventional, or at least different, context. There will be things expected and others unexpected; I’m sure it’s going to be great! And it will definitely set the tone for the evening, something glorious and special.

PAN M 360: The 31st now.

Mathieu Constance:  Lost Frequencies is a must-see. We performed it in Quebec City two years ago, and that show really impressed us. We tried to figure out how we could bring it back to Igloofest, this time in Montreal, and how we would present it on the main stage. Everything fell into place, and it’s going to be one of our more melodic, vocally driven, and sonically progressive nights. A bit of a pop vibe, actually. I’m really looking forward to seeing what Lost Frequencies will do on that stage.

Publicité panam

Before the interview begins, Marie Davidson casually lets slip that she was just on a call with none other than The Age of Surveillance Capitalism author Shoshana Zuboff.

She mentions a new collaborative project with her, as well as an upcoming conference at Harvard. If that feels far removed from the music scene, it’s only on the surface. Marie Davidson has never stopped pushing its boundaries. Shoshana Zuboff’s writings run through the musician’s latest album, notably in the track Validations Weight, which delivers a raw and unsettling critique of technocracy. I had it on repeat all year long, wondering, “What happened during Marie Davidson’s two years of silence?”

We’ll learn more on February 7 under the Satosphère dome… and in the text that follows.

Publicité panam

PAN M 360 : Lately, your discourse has been addressing the political and social implications of technoscience a lot. Can you tell us more about that?

Marie Davidson: I’m very politically engaged in my art—especially when it comes to the impact it has on our lives. At first, it was more of a discomfort I felt than a fully formed reflection. Gradually, social media entered our lives. At the beginning, for artists, it was mostly a way to share information—albums, concerts, tours. It really became problematic for me during the pandemic, when touring and promotion were no longer possible. Music promotion became intrinsically tied to our social media profiles. The pressure to constantly represent oneself became very intense. I was in conflict with that.

By the end of 2021, I even considered leaving my career. I withdrew for several months and applied to school. I was on the verge of going back to studying before realizing that music still held a central place in my life. I did, however, need to step back and rethink what it meant, for me, to be an artist in 2024.

PAN M 360 : How did you manage to regain control from there?

Marie Davidson : I had to weigh up the pros and cons and accept that if I wanted to continue my career in music, I would have no choice but to use social media, but that I would do so on my own terms. I needed to feel that I had control over my life and my choices, without succumbing to the pressure to follow the guidelines imposed on us by the platforms. The number of posts per week, the formats, how to present content to maximize visibility and views.

I represent myself the way I want to. And I refuse to do it under pressure, whether from labels, entities, promoters, or festivals. I don’t advertise for third parties. I post my way, when I want, how I want.

It took a lot of introspection to avoid compromising my art or my public identity.

Marie Davidson : Then I read The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, and I realized that it wasn’t just about music or the music industry. It affects all sectors. We are reduced to a form of slavery to the companies that offer services, whether it’s Google, Meta, or all the so-called smart technologies.

Each service has its own terms and conditions. We don’t read them. We click “accept.” They’re designed to be unreadable. But we need to understand what that means. By sharing our personal data, we’re selling part of our authenticity and our decision-making power. This data is resold to third parties. Companies know much more about us than we realize.

Little by little, we lose our ability to make decisions. Everything is formulated for us. Advertising is targeted. By accepting this, we sacrifice our decision-making power, our tastes, our critical thinking. And then it spreads to every level. We’re manipulated in our political opinions, the way we think, the way we vote, the way we judge others.

There is a great deal of violence online, a lot of opposition. Groups, identities, and products are pitted against each other. Political conflicts are exacerbated by online life. Even the information we consume and regurgitate is increasingly formatted. What worried me most while writing the album was the loss of our ability to form our own opinions and cultivate critical thinking.

For me, this is extremely alarming. So, that was an overview of the reasons that led me to write this album. I was talking about it with Shoshana just before. We both feel the need to make this subject accessible and to go beyond the academic framework or the closed intellectual circle.

THE FUTURE

PAN M 360 : It’s paradoxical, because for this discourse to become mainstream, it has to go through social media.

Marie Davidson : Yes, absolutely. You also have to find more playful, more light-hearted ways to present content that makes people think. It was in this context that I worked with an artist friend, Christopher Royal King—a musician I’ve collaborated with before. He works extensively with artificial intelligence, notably through a project called Total Emotional Awareness on Instagram. Together, we created AI-generated content for Instagram and YouTube, but in a critical way.

We used my image—videos of me—as well as political imagery and visuals found online. The idea was to hijack these tools to support the City of Clowns album campaign. To find a twist, both visually and in the lyrics, so that the message would come across without feeling too heavy. I’m not a pop artist, but some of my songs do get radio play. That’s already a lot.

PAN M 360 : There is also this movement around dumbphones. The New Yorker recently talked about this as a trend for 2026, almost like a new status symbol.

Marie Davidson : I like that, it’s encouraging. I don’t know how old you are, but I think it’s going to come from people younger than me. The worst part is for Gen Z. Personally, I’m fine, I’ve found my balance in all this, thanks to the awareness work I’ve done. But I’m worried about people in general. I’m also saddened by the poor quality of life of my generation and the generation below. Because it really affects people’s morale. Out of curiosity, where do you stand on this?

PAN M 360 : I joined Facebook when I was 13. I’m slowly getting rid of it.

Marie Davidson : Wow, that’s crazy. I got Facebook when I was 23. My friends had it way before me. I was protected during my childhood.

JOURNEY

PAN M 360 : When you started playing music at age 19, it was for your project with Les Momies de Palerme, right?

Marie Davidson : That’s right. I left school to pursue a career in music.

PAN M 360 : It’s funny, I’m talking about this because I’m actually wearing Momies de Palerme shirt.

Marie Davidson et les Momies de Palerme

Marie Davidson : You’re kidding me. I recognize it. An artist named Jessie did that. Wow!

PAN M 360 : I found it at a garage sale. Back in the days of Momies de Palermes, how did musicians network to go see shows?

Marie Davidson : Posters and word of mouth. Cafés, bars, record stores. Emails too. Facebook quietly arrived around 2008 or 2009, but I wasn’t really following it. It wasn’t until 2011 that I created an account, just to see what was going on. In 2012, when I released my first solo EP on Bandcamp, I understood the power of social media. That’s when my international career really took off. I experienced the complete transition. The “before” and “after.”

PAN M 360 : Some venues put stickers on cameras to prevent photos being taken. Would you be in favor of that at your concerts?

Marie Davidson : Personally, I don’t care. In an immersive club setting, like in Berlin or at Berghain, I’m totally in favor of it. No photos, you let yourself go. However, in life in general, I believe above all in individual freedom. I’m all for creative use. What I oppose is the appropriation of our data and the control exercised by large platforms. The problem isn’t the medium, it’s the capitalism that surrounds it.

AT DÔMESICLE

PAN M 360 : Let’s talk about S.A.T. Are you preparing anything special for your DJ set?

Marie Davidson : For me, a DJ set is always something new. DJing allows me to be more spontaneous. I play some of my own music, but mostly other people’s. It’s the pleasure of sharing, of making people dance. My sets are fun, energetic, not too serious. That’s really important to me. That’s always what I aim for. Live performances are more intense. They’re fun too, but maybe a little more challenging. Now that I’ve seen you and know what you look like. Come and say hello if we bump into each other.

PAN M 360 : I’ll be wearing my Momies de Palerme shirt.

In the end, we didn’t talk much about music during this interview, but with Marie Davidson, talking about concepts is talking about her art. She embodies her ideas through everything she does. Everything blends together with clarity in her universe. To dive into it, I highly recommend reading this interview conducted by Alain Brunet in the days following the release of her latest album.

In the context of its 60th anniversary season, a call for submissions from young soloists led the SMCQ to build a program consisting of contemporary concertos in order to highlight it through original music on the theme of Concerted Passion.

Percussionist Catherine Cherrier, oboist Élise Poulin, and violinist Bailey Wantuchs will perform in a program exclusively dedicated to concertos by composers Philippe Leroux (France-Quebec), Margareta Jerić (Croatia-Quebec), Martin Matalon (United States), and Kaija Saariaho (Finland-France). In addition to the soloists mentioned, the works will be performed by the SMCQ Ensemble under the direction of its conductor, Cristian Gort.

For this program presented on Friday, January 30th, at 7:30 pm, at the Salle Pierre-Mercure, PAN M 360 has chosen to focus on (d)Tourner. Ready for the diversion?

Here is the conversation between PAN M 360 and Philippe Leroux, a composer and educator who has made Montreal his home and who enjoyed “reversing” the notion of rotation, the driving principle of his concerto.

INFOS AND TICKETS HERE

Publicité panam

PAN M 360: Philippe Leroux, you are a composer, of French origin, a naturalized Canadian citizen. I am contacting you in Paris because your opera L’annonce faite à Marie is being performed at the Théâtre du Châtelet, but you normally live in Montreal.

Philippe Leroux : So, it happened like this. Actually, I had come to Montreal very often for concerts. The first time was at Domaine Forget with the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne and Louis Lavigueur’s youth ensemble. For several years, I came to Montreal for such projects.

PAN M 360: And you’ve put down roots in Montreal, obviously.

Philippe Leroux : One day, I received a call from someone at the University of Montreal who said, “We’d like to offer you a position as a composition professor at the university.” I liked the idea because I really loved Montreal and what was happening in Quebec. So, I said yes, and I came with my wife and two children.

PAN M 360: So you were living in Paris at the time?

Philippe Leroux : Yes, I was teaching in Paris. And then, what happened was that after two months, two years, I was still welcome as a visiting professor, but there was no longer any question of a permanent position, and I risked losing the positions I had in France. So, I said, oh well, I’ll go back to France, and then McGill University actually created a position specifically for me, which is truly a great honor. And then, I really love Quebec, I feel at home here, so I applied for Canadian citizenship. It’s true that a lot is happening in Paris. It’s a really big city. But there’s also a lot happening in Montreal. And since I travel a lot, that suits me very, very well.

PAN M 360: We won’t be discussing your entire work, but rather your piece entitled (d)Tourner, presented in the SMCQ’s Fougue concertante program. From the outset, Tourner involves solo percussion, flute, oboe, clarinet, horn, piano, two violins, a viola, and a cello. So, please explain the structure of this work.

Philippe Leroux : I tend to say “divert” but we should say “turn.” Indeed, it’s a piece that works extensively with the idea of ​​rotation, circular movement on many levels.

PAN M 360: And how does this manifest itself in the work?

Philippe Leroux :  For example, the instruments are arranged in an arc around an imaginary center. This allows the sound to circulate in the space on stage, passing from one instrument to another. So, that’s the spatial aspect. A second aspect would be the sound circulating within the physical space of the instruments. It’s the same on a melodic level; we have melodies that loop back and forth. And it’s the same on a timbral level, meaning that the changes in timbre are also cyclical. In fact, it’s not perfectly circular, because the movements gradually amplify; they are circles that distort, hence the distortion.

PAN M 360: Hence the d in parentheses in the title: (d)Turn.

Philippe Leroux : That’s the main idea. I’m working a lot like that at the moment, using “activity braids.” You have to imagine it a bit like a hair braid.

PAN M 360: In other words, musical discourses are interspersed within the same work, is that right?

Philippe Leroux : There you have it. Sometimes you hear one, sometimes you hear the other, sometimes you hear two at the same time, sometimes three at the same time, or four at the same time. And what I really like about this approach is that it’s both extremely continuous, since each strand of the braid is perfectly continuous, and also because the transformations are gradual. So there’s a sonic coherence, in any case. But since you don’t always hear all the strands, there are these sort of temporal short circuits when a strand is coming back to the foreground. And so, because you don’t always hear all the strands, there are really moments where, all of a sudden, you get surprises, contrasts. That’s what I like about this approach, because it’s something very coherent, since all the movements are continuous. But at the same time, we have something rich in contrasts and surprises, because the braids stop at times.

PAN M 360: Is this your first work of this kind based on this circularity?

Philippe Leroux : I would say yes. In any case, it’s the first piece where I’ve taken this idea this far. But actually, like all my pieces, it finds its source and roots in my previous works, in certain aspects of those pieces. But this time, it’s truly the central idea of ​​the work; it’s several loops that keep coming.

PAN M 360: Now, why can we call this work a concerto? Generally, a concerto is for a soloist or soloists with an ensemble. In this case, what about it?

Philippe Leroux : Yes, you could say it’s a concerto, well, with some nuances. The word concerto comes from the Latin concertare, which means to compete, to struggle, also to consult with one another. That is to say, a true concerto can be seen as a battle between a soloist and a group. I see it more as a synergy between the soloist and the group.

PAN M 360: Don’t most composers see it that way?

Philippe Leroux : Yes, yes, absolutely. But in Baroque music, for example, you find pieces like Vivaldi’s famous concertos, pieces for solo violin and ensemble that are like fratricidal battles between a soloist and the musicians of an ensemble. In the work presented here, it’s a soloist, primarily a marimba. It’s extremely virtuosic, and you’ll see that the solo percussionist, Catherine Cherrier, is truly fantastic. So, it’s a solo marimba, but with a few extra touches: crotales, a bass drum, and so on. I can’t be at the concert, but I have rehearsed with her, and I can tell you that she plays magnificently.

PAN M 360: With two or four mallets?

Philippe Leroux : She plays with four people, and she even used extension cords because it involves a lot of work on the extreme low or high notes, in order to reach both at the same time.

PAN M 360: Regarding how you have approached notes, melodies, harmonies, or sounds in general, where do you stand?

Philippe Leroux :Generally speaking, I’m more in the spectral vein, meaning I work a lot from our perception of sound. So very often, I analyze sounds and use the data from the analysis as harmonic material.

PAN M 360: And from this analysis and the tools at your disposal, you imagine an extrapolation.

Philippe Leroux : That’s it, exactly. I start with a purely acoustic spectrum, a purely acoustic analysis of a sound, and then I build upon it. In this specific piece, I start with a gong sound that I transform. I create modulations from this basic material. Like all classical composers, I choose only certain areas of the harmonic spectrum, that is, certain chords, after which it’s a purely intuitive process.

PAN M 360: Of course. If it’s not intuitive, it’s not art.

Philippe Leroux : I completely agree.  

PAN M 360: Since this is the theme of this program, how should we consider the concerted approach in 2026? Doesn’t this approach correspond to previous eras? What is the point of repeating it?

Philippe Leroux :  Indeed, I also believe it’s a historically dated formula, both aesthetically and historically, of course. But if we look at this form in and of itself, and try to forget the history of the concerto, we come to realize that this form speaks of the relationship between the individual and the group. That’s exactly how I conceive of the concerto. Consequently, it evokes all human relationships—love, repulsion, and so on—between an individual and a group. So, it’s truly a work about the relationship between the individual and the group.

PAN M 360: Remind us of the creation of the work.

Philippe Leroux : It was commissioned by the Canada Council for the Arts for the Aventa ensemble in Victoria. And it has also been performed in New York, France and Switzerland, but never in Quebec.

PAN M 360: And you’re joined here during a rehearsal with the Ensemble Intercontemporain. So tell us briefly about your opera, since it’s not the main topic of this interview.

Philippe Leroux : L’Annonce faite à Marie was created in 2022 at the Nantes Opera, based on a play by Paul Claudel, one of the greatest French playwrights and poets of the 20th century. Claudel wrote four versions of the text over a period of 56 years, so it accompanied him throughout his life. It’s a text I love very much because it combines a very strong dramatic structure, incredibly coherent and powerful, with an extremely poetic language, rich in imagery.

Librettist Raphaèle Fleury did a fantastic job, drawing from all the versions of the text and creating a superb libretto; I see no flaws in the coherence of the dramaturgy. It’s all a great pleasure. From a musical point of view, it’s a mixed work, instrumental and electronic. The electronic part was created at IRCAM, and you can even hear recordings of Claudel himself. You can hear him responding to the singer, anticipating what the singers are doing, or reflecting as if he were writing his text.

PAN M 360: You really commute between Montreal and Paris, and you still have a lot of ties to France, since you spent a considerable part of your professional life there.

Philippe Leroux : In the current climate, now is not the time to start neglecting these achievements. We’re in a period in music history where contemporary music is still marginalized. I believe it’s important to develop an international network, not just a local one, because otherwise we’ll never get anywhere. So I’m working everywhere: several concerts in Japan this year, in China last year, recently in Germany, this winter in France… So, I think it’s important not to put all your eggs in one basket, as they say.

PAN M 360: We understand that it is impossible for you to attend Friday’s concert in Montreal!

Philippe Leroux :  Wait, there are worse things. Well, there aren’t worse things, no, there aren’t worse things, but it’s the same thing. February 3rd is the last performance of my opera, and that evening I have a piece performed by the Radio France Choir. It’s a real traffic jam, but oh well, I’m not going to complain.

PAN M 360: Indeed, it’s quite a problem. The vast majority of artists are languishing in appalling economic insecurity and often give up.

Philippe Leroux :  Yes, and I am fully aware of how lucky I am. 

PAN M 360: Thank you Philippe!

Participants

Program

The new Artistic Director of the Accès Asie Festival, Ziya Tabassian, wanted the Festival to extend throughout the year in order to strengthen ties with the Montreal community. He therefore had the idea of offering a series of multidisciplinary meetings, one at the end of each winter month, namely January, February and March. It’s called Cabaret Confluences. On the program, like a true cabaret, a rich and diverse mix of music, dance, poetry, performance, and theatre. All of this, of course, is supported by several artists, most of whom are based in Montreal. The Cabarets will therefore be a perfect opportunity to discover the remarkable artistic richness that bubbles in the heart of the Quebec metropolis. I discussed it with him.

INFORMATION AND TICKETS

Schedule and programming:

January 28, 2026 – Cabaret Confluences 1

The bilingual evening features a theatrical contemporary dance duo by Léa Tremblay Fong and Taylor Yeung, an improvised music performance by Fahmid Nibesh, a poetic reading by Kama La Mackerel, and Persian songs performed by Naghmeh Shafiei. Dona-Bella Kassab, MC and multidisciplinary artist, ensures cohesion between the performances.

Doors open at 7 PM. Show at 8 PM.

@ La Sala Rossa, 4848 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal

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February 25, 2026 – Cabaret Confluences 2

The Cabaret Confluences #2 explores artistic and cultural diversity through dance, stand-up comedy, music, poetry, and performance.

The bilingual evening brings together multidisciplinary artists: Janelle Hacault, a contemporary dancer and choreographer of Filipino/Franco-Canadian origin, cache cache (poetry, literature, and electronic ambient music), Ran Wang and Xuan Lucie Liu (Chinese music duo), Rinre, a young Japanese dancer based in Montreal, and Dona-Bella Kassab will serve as the master of ceremonies.

Doors open at 7 PM. Show at 8 PM. 

@ Toscadura, 4388 Saint-Laurent Blvd, Montreal

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March 25, 2026 – Cabaret Confluences 3

The Cabaret Confluences #3 presents Amineh Sharifi with an excerpt from I Lost My Tongue, a bilingual French-Persian play exploring identity and language.

Followed by the trio blending poetry and music composed of Claudia Chan Tak, Géraldine Leong Sang, and Nay Theam.

Sasha Ashwini, a Bharatanatyam dancer, offers an exploration of identity and decolonial issues.

LiKouri, a singer born in Canada, whose mother is of Indian origin adopted by a Lebanese family, will share her musical creations.

Finally, Dona-Bella Kassab, MC and engaged multidisciplinary artist, will close the evening.

Doors open at 7 PM. Show at 8 PM.

@ La Sala Rossa, 4848 Boul. Saint-Laurent, Montréal

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