CIOC Festival – October 2-30, various locations

The 2016 Canadian International Organ Competition (CIOC) Festival

The CIOC presents two Prestige Concerts and over fifteen events centered on the pipe organ. A total of forty musicians will participate in the month-long festival, with concerts, tours and a film screening taking place in several churches and concert halls throughout Montreal.

The Festival will showcase the versatility of the pipe organ, celebrate the finest organists, including the talented Quebec expat Isabelle Demers, and pay tribute to musical legends Sir Ernest MacMillan and Raymond Daveluy, who contributed to making Montreal a world-class organ hub.

PRESTIGE CONCERTS

Gala Concert

Notre-Dame Basilica, October 14, 2016, 7:30pm
We have selected 3 young organists that are gaining international attention, to perform at this year’s CIOC Annual Gala Concert:

Isabelle Demers (Québec): Born in Lachine, she lives in the USA and concertizes around the world”Definitely a talent to watch” -Michael Barone, Pipedreams.
Johannes Zeinler (Austria): Winner of the prestigious St. Albans Competition in 2015 and one of its youngest competitors at age 22, this will be his first performance in Canada.
Dexter Kennedy (USA): Laureate of the 2014 Grand Prix de Chartres, ‘rising star’ according to the American Guild of Organist, Dexter Kennedy performances are fiery, exciting both music connoisseurs as well as people who have never experienced the organ in concert.
For more information and tickets: www.ciocm.org

Tribute Concert

St. Andrew and St. Paul, October 15, 2106, 8 pm
The CIOC highlights the important contribution of Canadian composers and organists Raymond Daveluy (b.1926) and Sir Ernest MacMillan (1893-1973). Organist Jonathan Oldengarm and the St. Andrew and St. Paul Choir will perform MacMillan’s dazzling Te Deum, first played 40 years ago during the opening concert of the Montreal Olympic Games.
Rachel Laurin will play the world premiere of Mr. Daveluy’s latest composition: his 9th organ sonata. For more information and tickets: www.ciocm.org

ORGANS GALORE
The rest of the 2016 CIOC Festival underscores Montreal’s rich musical heritage, spanning almost 375 years.

Guided Tour of Organs: Casavant opus 1 to 1034!
Visit 3 Montreal organs, including the Maison symphonique’s Grand Orgue Pierre-Béique. This historical and musical tour will take you back over a century! All traveling between venues done by CIOC bus.
Starting point: Notre-Dame-de-Lourdes Chapel / October 15, 2016, 10am to 1pm
Visit www.ciocm.org to purchase tickets.

In partnership with the Festival des couleurs de l’orgue français a series of organ concerts will be held every Sunday at 3pm, in the month of October, at the Grand Séminaire de Montréal. The series includes Yves G. Préfontaine, Maria Budacova (CIOC finalist in 2014), François Zeitouni, Jacques Pichard and Neil Cockburn.

St. Joseph’s Oratory’s concert series
Every Sunday at St. Joseph’s Oratory’s basilica at 3:30pm
This series includes organists: Vincent Boucher, William Tanke (Germany), William Porter, Kevin Komissaruk, and Michael Gailit (Austria).

For a complete list of festival events, visit: www.ciocm.org