Welcome to the 3rd edition of the Festival de la Voix. We come together once again to celebrate the extraordinary human voice on the weekend of March 18 – 20.

Each voice is unique and given the opportunity to sing or to listen, we discover remarkable timbre, range, register and expression. When learning to sing we delve into the panoply of musical genres: the harmonic complexities of Bach; the beauty and challenging melodic lines of Mozart; the soul-stirring energy of gospel music; the subtle blending of voices and incomparable experience of choral singing.

Each musical style speaks to us differently. We are often moved in a spiritual sense to a place we find only when singing, playing or listening to music. This has been my experience throughout my lifetime and the reason for which the Festival de la Voix has been created. I hope that you will find beauty and excitement as you take part in the Festival, and that you may be enriched by the concerts and workshops that you will experience as participants and listeners throughout the weekend.

This year The Festival de la Voix will present five concerts and three vocal workshops. We are thrilled to have the exciting gospel ensemble JIREH, the stellar soprano Natalie Choquette, many young singers and instrumentalists, the Sainte-Anne Singers, Melodia Choir, Generations Big Band and Les Voix de Montréal conducted by Margo Keenan. A very special welcome to the William Aberhart Concert Choir of Calgary, Alberta conducted by Erica Phare. One of our mandates is to include Canadian repertoire. Saskatchewan born Paul Suchan’s stirring “Wake the Grain” will be performed at the Gala concert.

  • Friday, March 18: Magnificent Mozart and Other Wonders featuring soprano Natalie Choquette at Église de la Présentation, 665, rue de l’Église in Dorval, 8:00 p.m.
  • Saturday, March 19: Golden Voices, Generations Big Band, Melodia Choir and more, 8:00 p.m. Rock ‘n Blue DNR, The Day Dreamers, Rebecca Fiset-Côté, Paul Kasner at Valois United Church, 70 Belmont, Pointe-Claire, 8:00 p.m.
  • Sunday, March 20: OPÉRA PLUS with four young opera singers and Brandon Roy, Broadway at Beaurepaire United Church, 25 Fieldfare, Beaconsfield, 1:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, March 20: JIREH Gospel plus John Rennie High School Jazz Band & the William Aberhart Concert Choir of Calgary, Alberta. Louise Chalmers Auditorium, John Rennie High School, Pointe-Claire, 4:30 p.m.

Workshops/Masterclass

    • Glorious Gospel workshop presented by Carol Bernard (JIREH); Saturday, March 19 at St-Columba-By-The-Lake Church, 11 Rodney, Pointe-Claire 9 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
    • Masterclass for Soloists with Natalie Choquette, soprano: Saturday, March 19 at St-Columba-By-The-Lake Church, 11 Rodney, Pointe-Claire 2 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
    • Write Your Own Songs with Sarah Rossy, a dynamic young singer/songwriter and leader of SHYRE

For details regarding concerts, workshops/master classes, visit www.festivaldelavoix.com, [email protected], Brown Paper Tickets or call Kerry-Anne Kutz at (514) 758-3641. Thank you to the singers, instrumentalists, volunteers, sponsors, and Heritage Canada.