Word of the Consul General of France at Quebec
Since 1996, the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) has established links with contemporary French music, most notably through Radio France’s Présences festival. Several works commissioned jointly have been created and reciprocal invitations were exchanged during the 1999 Présences festival in Paris and later during the first edition of the Montreal/New Music Festival (MNM) in 2003. These exchanges allowed the establishment, and later the strengthening, of the partnership between the two festivals.
In 2005, a further milestone will be reached, as France will be the guest of honour at the Montreal/New Music Festival. Over 30 musicians, composers, conductors and singers from France will interpret twenty or so works from French composers, four of the works commissioned jointly by Radio France, Radio-Canada and the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ). We could not possibly provide France with a better showcase and I am delighted by it.
The Montreal/New Music Festival (MNM) is important to this Consulate General, for not only does the event bring together all Quebec organisms involved in contemporary music, it affords above all a meeting place dedicated to creation and to what is most contemporary and innovative. The Consulat Général de France à Québec’s artistic mission, within the cultural mandate granted it, is precisely to promote and make better known to Quebecers France’s “youthful” creations.
This is why it was important for the Consulat Général de France à Québec to associate itself, from February 28 to March 10, 2005, with the second edition of the Montreal/New Music Festival (MNM), through its own cooperative programs, those of the Commission permanente de coopération franco-québécoise and, obviously, with the assistance of the Association Française d’Action Artistique (AFAA).
Beyond the success of this second edition of the festival and the strengthening of the partnership between the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ) and its French interlocutors, it is my fervent wish that those passionate about music, as well as those curious, and perhaps even sceptical, may discover, during these two weeks, the treasures of contemporary music in Quebec and in France.
François Alabrune
Word of the Dean of the Faculty of Music, McGill University
Welcome to this second edition of the Montreal/New Music Festival! We are delighted to continue our partnership with the SMCQ, the MSO/OSM, and the CBC/SRC, and to welcome the many new and returning participants as we continue to see the Festival grow. We remain convinced that this Festival format provides a formidable leveraging opportunity for music and culture. And we reaffirm McGill’s leadership commitment to its continued success.
This Faculty of Music 2004–2005 season of concerts and special events coincides with the 100th anniversary of Music at McGill. A central feature of McGill’s contribution to the Montreal cultural scene over the past century has been its presence as a creator and performer of new music. We are very proud of our composers and our performing ensembles. And we are pleased that the MNM Festival provides our student ensembles with the opportunity to be heard in partnership with, and in the distinguished company of, leading professional ensembles from our great city and from around the world.
McGill Music is particularly committed to the exploration music as technology and the technology of music. In this regard, our mission is quite consonant with the arts-technology goals of the Daniel Langlois Foundation. And I am pleased to take this opportunity to acknowledge the generous support of the Foundation, which this year provides us and the Festival with the creative and teaching presence of three exceptional international composers, all associated with IRCAM in Paris: Mauro Lanza Martin, Matalon and Yan Maresz.
The challenges of contemporary music are extraordinary for creator, performer, and listener. We seek together to embrace the full range of human experience: its physical, intellectual, emotional, social, and spiritual hopes. May the MNM Festival extend your own musical experience in new and exciting ways!
Bon festival!
Don McLean
A word from the Artistic Director of the SMCQ
Still Warning: Music Ahead!
For the past several decades, the extraordinary vigour of our musical milieu has provided a rich artistic nesting ground that has yielded an uncommon richness in the realm of performance. As its fortieth season draws to a close, the SMCQ finds itself still at the heart of this energy! And from this position, it is extremely proud to contribute to the dissemination of the music of our time, as it carves out a place for Montreal in the network of important international cultural centres.
MNM is the fruit of an extraordinary partnership between the SMCQ, McGill University’s Faculty of Music, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Radio-Canada, and the CBC. To this group must be added the numerous collaborators, both artistic and institutional, including all of the festival’s artists as well as governmental agencies providing substantial financial support: principally the Canada Council for the Arts, Heritage Canada, the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, and the Conseil des arts de Montréal. Many sponsors also support the SMCQ, as well as all of those who, from near or far, work to bring this festival to life. This year, the exceptional partnership with France, the country of honour, must be underlined as it grew out of a great collaborative effort.
The SMCQ has invested considerable energy in the organization of this international event, with the unwavering desire to see new music flourish both in Quebec and beyond its borders. It is now your turn to taste the fruit of our efforts!
Walter Boudreau 33.01.04
Word of the General Manager of the OSM
From February 28 to March 10, 2005, Montreal becomes a meeting place for international developments in music during the second edition of Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques (MNM). A partner of the festival’s first edition, in 2003, the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal has chosen once again to associate itself with an event that showcases musical creation taking place here and elsewhere, as conveyed by great performers on the international scene.
The collaboration between the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec (SMCQ), the McGill University Faculty of Music, the CBC/Radio-Canada radio networks and the OSM goes back several years, and speaks to the vitality of the contemporary repertoire. Think only of OSMCQ events, the MusiMarch Festival, the Symphony of the Millennium and a good many other concerts where the spotlight has focused on creation.
The OSM will be offering the public two programs in the framework of the festival, the first featuring composer Michael Colgrass’s Crossworlds, and the second dedicated to works by four of the most prolific of Canadian and French composers: Clermont Pépin, Jean Lesage, Marc-André Dalbavie and Pascal Dusapin. Lectures and a public rehearsal will be offered in parallel with these concerts, with a view to enhancing the concert experience for lovers of new symphonic music.
To everyone, a wonderful festival!
Madeleine Careau
A note from the Director, Radio Music, CBC Radio
We at CBC Radio Music, and our colleagues at La chaine culturelle de Radio Canada are pleased to be a partner the Montreal Nouvelle Musique festival. The production and presentation of new Canadian music is an important element in our music programming. We believe that our audiences expect to hear the very best of new Canadian music on CBC Radio Two, and our involvement in the Montreal Nouvelle Musique festival is an excellent way to show this.
We value the creation of new Canadian music, and we demonstrate this in our broadcasts, on shows like Two New Hours and In Performance, and through CBC Radio commissions, which can be heard on many of our network programs. We believe that Canada’s composers are strengthening and enriching our musical culture, and that the demonstration of excellence in composition make for very exciting, and engaging listening on CBC Radio.
Congratulations to all the MNM partners, and to you, the audience for embracing this innovative programming.
Mark Steinmetz
Mot de la Directrice, Espace musique, Radio de Radio-Canada
Place à la CRÉATION et à la DIVERSITÉ MUSICALE!
Espace musique est fière de s’associer au 2e Festival international Montréal/Nouvelles Musiques avec qui elle partage l’audace musicale et la passion de la découverte.
Fidèle à l’engagement de la radio publique envers le milieu musical d’ici, la radio de Radio-Canada est heureuse de se joindre à ce festival unique et de promouvoir la création et les artistes canadiens sur ses ondes.
Dans le cadre de cette 2e édition, les spectateurs et les auditeurs auront la chance de découvrir quatre œuvres de compositeurs français et canadiens, commandées conjointement par Radio France et Espace musique. De plus, grâce à la radio publique, les amateurs de musique contemporaine au Canada, et dans une cinquantaine de pays à travers le monde, auront accès à ces concerts inédits.
Bon Festival MNM 2005. Je vous souhaite d’y faire de belles rencontres et de succomber à de nombreux coups de cœur.
Christiane LeBlanc