SuperMicMac

• Mireille Gagné, direction
• Marie-Thérèse Lefebvre, collaboration to research
• Silvio Palmieri, visual design

Exhibit. Does music created by women have a distinctive sound? A specific philosophy? A special color? Have you always wanted to know how women composers express themselves? Answers to questions like these will be found amongst the archival documents, photographs and scores that have been carefully selected by Mireille Gagné, a musicologist and the director of the Centre de musique canadienne au Québec. Along with Marie-Thérèse Lefebvre’s November 1st lecture entitled La face cachée de l’histoire des femmes dans le milieu musical montréalais, this exhibition will present some of the most prominent figures of the twentieth century. A most worthwhile detour to the Corridor des pas perdus of Place des Arts will allow you to discover the extraordinary path traveled by these inspired, inspiring and adventurous women.

• Diane Labrosse, art director
• Jean René, conductor
• Allison Cameron
• Lori Freedman
• Joane Hétu
• Lee Pui Ming
• Marie Pelletier
• Danielle Palardy Roger

From 1927 to 1941 Mary Travers, known as La Bolduc, had a very successful career as a “popular” singer. An eccentric who was shunned by the musical intelligentsia, she nevertheless wrote the music and the lyrics to about a hundred songs, and her immense success gave new life to la turlutte (a way of singing with the tongue keeping rhythm) and to folk music. • Music actuelle has always had a connection to popular, traditional and festive music, so it is not surprising that La Bolduc has been one of its sources of inspiration. In homage to her, Diane Labrosse has chosen some of her works and entrusted them to innovative women composers who are active in fields as varied as electroacoustic music, contemporary music, music actuelle, improvised music and jazz. Their arrangements promise an imaginative deluge that will echo La Bolduc’s creative spirit, a spirit that made her a true supermama of her time.

• Diane Labrosse, art director
• Jean René, conductor
• Allison Cameron
• Lori Freedman
• Joane Hétu
• Lee Pui Ming
• Marie Pelletier
• Danielle Palardy Roger

From 1927 to 1941 Mary Travers, known as La Bolduc, had a very successful career as a “popular” singer. An eccentric who was shunned by the musical intelligentsia, she nevertheless wrote the music and the lyrics to about a hundred songs, and her immense success gave new life to la turlutte (a way of singing with the tongue keeping rhythm) and to folk music. • Music actuelle has always had a connection to popular, traditional and festive music, so it is not surprising that La Bolduc has been one of its sources of inspiration. In homage to her, Diane Labrosse has chosen some of her works and entrusted them to innovative women composers who are active in fields as varied as electroacoustic music, contemporary music, music actuelle, improvised music and jazz. Their arrangements promise an imaginative deluge that will echo La Bolduc’s creative spirit, a spirit that made her a true supermama of her time.

• DB Boyko, voice
• Kathy Kennedy, voice
• Fides Krucker, voice
• Sarah Beaulne, voice
• Evie Tullaugaq Mark, voice

What could be more basic and personal than one’s breathing and one’s voice? • In the first part, three sopranos explore, first in solo, the spirit of contemporary vocal art. From the operatic universe of Fides Krucker, through the technological approach of Kathy Kennedy, to the improvisation and exploratory compositions of DB Boyko, the voice emerges in its many creative and distinct ways. In the finale, the three artists improvise in a vocal trio that will combine very unique styles. • Katajjait, the throat-singing of Nunavik, is a genre of women’s music that is still being handed down from generation to generation. Performance and competition in equal measure, these songs (which sound somewhat like panting) only end when the players burst out laughing and have to stop. The SuperMicMac will present the young Evie Tullaugaq Mark and Sarah Beaulne, who learned their craft from the renowned Lydia Audlaluk and Mary Sivuarapik.

• View (DB Boyko; Lori Freedman; Karen Graves; Peggy Lee; Marilyn Lerner; Lauri Lyster)

Improvisation has existed since the beginnings of music. It is a method of composing that is anchored in the moment and whose outcome is determined both by the interplay between the instrumentalists and by their ability to listen to, to hear, one another. VIEW raises this to an art of writing that succeeds in combining forms and producing flowing musical conversations. • The ensemble formed in 1997 out of Women in View, a music improvisation series presented at the Western Front in Vancouver — a city that, along with Montréal and Toronto, is undoubtedly one of the most vibrant for musical experimentation. These musicians work with other ensembles as well and are very active in the world of jazz and contemporary music. Following their acclaimed appearance at the 1997 Montréal International Jazz Festival, they are back, together once again, in Montréal.

• Ensemble contemporain de Montréal (ECM+)
• Véronique Lacroix, conductor
• Rose Bolton
• Emily Doolittle
• Suzanne Hébert-Tremblay
• Estelle Lemire
• Ana Sokolović

The Ensemble contemporain de Montréal has been making an unceasing contribution to the encouragement and promotion of the young creators of contemporary music ever since it was founded by Véronique Lacroix in 1987. The ECM•relève-ContemporElles concert continues this process through its intelligent presentation of promising musicians who are on the rise because of either their compositions or their abilities as performers. On the program are works written during the last five years, and the concert will offer a very good insight into the generation of women composers who are in their 30s, a colorful generation that is finding its own way to renew the language of written music even as it continues in the “great” classical music tradition. This concert will also provide an opportunity to hear the ondes Martenot played by Geneviève Grenier and Estelle Lemire in a work Lemire created.

• Sonia Pâquet, lecturer

Lecture. In the 1970s women began to make a real mark on the male world of jazz. Through this gradual process emerged musicians whose innovations have now found a place in the great history of world jazz. Who are Renee Rosnes, Jane Bunnett, Lorraine Desmarais, Ingrid Jensen and Dinah Vero? What paths did they follow, and what influence did they have? The speaker, Sonia Pâquet, is an expert on Canadian jazz, as well as a saxophonist, and she will relate the fascinating epic story of Canadian jazzwomen. We invite you to discover one of the most captivating aspects of our musical culture through the story of the careers and experiences of these women.

• Eva Gauthier
• Christine Lemelin

Eva Gauthier (1885-1958) was one of the prominent figures of the first half of the 20th century and certainly one of the most flamboyant and innovative singers of her time. A great lover of the music of Poulenc, Milhaud, Debussy, Stravinsky and Ravel, she was also the first woman to introduce jazz and oriental music to America. Legend has it that she played a role in the birth of George Gershwin’s career. With commentary by well-known music lover Edgar Fruitier and mezzo-soprano Christine Lemelin, this recital will introduce and allow us to share the songs that the woman who was called “the high priestess of modern lyric art” loved best. • Christine Lemelin, who is also a concert soloist and actor, first gained notice in opera, especially for her interpretation of Carmen in Peter Brook’s La tragédie de Carmen. The legendary producer and director had a strong influence on her, and as a result of the experience she brings a strong dramatic sense to her interpretations.

• Mireille Gagné, host
• Chantal Dumas, panel member
• Andra McCartney, panel member
• Isabelle Panneton, panel member
• Danielle Palardy Roger, panel member

Roundtable. What makes a form innovative? What does it mean to make innovative music today? • Four musicians from different fields (contemporary music, musique actuelle, electroacoustics, and radio art), all of whom are active in the Montréal music scene, will give their point of view on questions that are more relevant than ever. The debate promises to be a lively one, as these versatile and committed women know how to speak out!

• Chantale Laplante

Electroacoustic music has existed since the end of the 1940s, and it offers the inquiring listener the promise of an extraordinary sound adventure. In these two concerts an orchestra of sixteen loudspeakers endows the music with a strong spatial dimension that will create an astonishing “cinema of the ear” in which sound rules. • Réseaux, a concert organization devoted to acousmatic music, has promoted the Rien à voir concept, in which a number of electroacoustic musicians are by turns given carte blanche to conceive an evening. The SuperMicMac gives this carte blanche to composer Chantale Laplante. In order to survey electroacoustic creation in Canada she had opted for a program that is varied and open to esthetics that range both from sound ecology to electronica and from a concrete approach to manipulations that are more usually electronic in nature. From the pioneers through to the coming generation, these two evenings will present concerts that offer a panorama of the different tendencies that guide electroacoustic music.

• Marie-Thérèse Lefebvre, lecturer

Lecture. Marie-Thérèse Lefebvre is a professor of musicology at the Faculty of Music of the Université de Montréal and has published a number of works and numerous articles. She is also very active in the Montréal music scene. She is an authority on the subject of women and music and will present to us women musicians, composers, instrumentalists, conductors, teachers, presenters and administrators who paved the way for the women of today. This lecture promises to provide a fascinating look at a page from the history of music that is too often skipped over.

• Chantale Laplante

Electroacoustic music has existed since the end of the 1940s, and it offers the inquiring listener the promise of an extraordinary sound adventure. In these two concerts an orchestra of sixteen loudspeakers endows the music with a strong spatial dimension that will create an astonishing “cinema of the ear” in which sound rules. • Réseaux, a concert organization devoted to acousmatic music, has promoted the Rien à voir concept, in which a number of electroacoustic musicians are by turns given carte blanche to conceive an evening. The SuperMicMac gives this carte blanche to composer Chantale Laplante. In order to survey electroacoustic creation in Canada she had opted for a program that is varied and open to esthetics that range both from sound ecology to electronica and from a concrete approach to manipulations that are more usually electronic in nature. From the pioneers through to the coming generation, these two evenings will present concerts that offer a panorama of the different tendencies that guide electroacoustic music.

• Mighty Kat, DJ (house/electro)

There are, happily, more and more women DJs in Montréal. Whether they are creating background music through the skillful mixing of different music, or creating totally new pieces, the DJettes are artists of the present. In tune both with their public and with the world of music, these exciting women are at the heart of new movements and on the cutting edge of new trends. • You will have the opportunity to discover and hear them in action at Laïka (the invitation is for cocktail time, please), one of the few venues in Montréal where they can be heard. You will be able to appreciate the full potential of an impressive performance style that demands great memory, exceptional dexterity and a powerful sense of rhythm.

• Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM)
• Lorraine Vaillancourt, conductor
• Louise Marcotte, soprano

This year the OSM is establishing a contemporary music series entitled L’OSM au présent, and it is hardly surprising that the orchestra would look to Lorraine Vaillancourt’s talent and experience as a conductor to inaugurate the event. The program will focus on both the composers of today and their predecessors. • The concert will be preceded at 6:15 PM by a round table discussion entitled “Jouer, diriger, composer la musique d’aujourd’hui” (Playing, directing and composing today’s music). The participants will be Jacques Drouin, pianist, José Evangelista, composer, and Véronique Lacroix, conductor.

• DJ Krista, DJ (house/techno)

There are, happily, more and more women DJs in Montréal. Whether they are creating background music through the skillful mixing of different music, or creating totally new pieces, the DJettes are artists of the present. In tune both with their public and with the world of music, these exciting women are at the heart of new movements and on the cutting edge of new trends. • You will have the opportunity to discover and hear them in action at Laïka (the invitation is for cocktail time, please), one of the few venues in Montréal where they can be heard. You will be able to appreciate the full potential of an impressive performance style that demands great memory, exceptional dexterity and a powerful sense of rhythm.

• vivie’ vinçent, harpsichord
• Katherine Duncanson, voice
• Rivka Golani, viola

Exceptional, because they go beyond the limits of simple interpretation, and in so doing create new works. • vivie’ vinçent is mad about the harpsichord, and the ultimate baroque instrument is made modern under the hands of this composer-performer. Imbued with a passion for re-composing existing works, vivie’ vinçent transforms them through electronic manipulation and other sound-transformation techniques. • Katherine Duncanson is a solo vocalist as well as a prolific multidisciplinary artist. In this work she starts from a poem by Robert Wilson and explores language to the point where finally its sounds leave us with no more than a primitive impression. • Rivka Golani, who impresses both because of her presence and her dazzling technique, is one of the greatest contemporary violists and an inspiration to performers and composers alike. Her contribution to the advancement of viola technique makes her place in history certain. In this concert Golani will delve into her repertoire to present three strong pieces written by Lauber, Southam and Turner — women composers whose very different approaches complement each other perfectly.

• Joane Hétu, voice, alto saxophone
• Bernard Grenon, diffusion
• Magali Babin, electric guitar, various metallic objects
• Anne Bourne, cello, voice
• Angelique Van Berlo, accordion with chromatic bass
• Gayle Young, amaranth

It takes character to go beyond conventional boundaries, and these musicians have it in great quantity. These highly original virtuoso and innovative inventors set off into uncharted territory. • Joane Hétu’s mouth and saxophone are capable of incredible things. The sounds that bubble out of her instrument, her singing and her breathing, given form here by Bernard Grenon, transport us into a world that is gratifyingly tribal and essential. • Magali Babin is fascinated by contact microphones for guitars and by the amplification of the sounds that can be made with metal. She explores the microcosm of metallic objects that she makes vibrate, and by doing so creates music that is both minimalist yet immense. • The trio of Bourne, van Berlo and Young was formed out of a workshop with the grande dame of American new music, Pauline Oliveros. With playing that strips form down to its essential qualities, this trio presents minimalist, microtonal music that is superbly delicate and impressionistic. Gayle Young will play the amaranth, a sort of 24-string koto she invented that has a profound and mysterious sound.

• Lorraine Vaillancourt

Workshop-concert. Lorraine Vaillancourt is a bundle of energy who has been working as a pianist, conductor and teacher since the beginning of the 1970s. Her commitment, ability and determination have thoroughly energized and enriched the contemporary music scene. The founder and director of a multitude of groups and organizations, Lorraine Vaillancourt is one of the dominant figures in Canadian music. • In this concert she will be presenting five highly regarded woman composers who are renowned for the intelligence and the maturity of their writing. • Founded in 1970 by Serge Garant and relaunched in 1974 by Lorraine Vaillancourt, the ATMC is a workshop-course that each year encourages students to create contemporary music works. The ATMC surveys music from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present, allowing composers from Québec and Canada to create original works. • Since Lorraine Vaillancourt founded the NEM in 1989 the ensemble’s reputation has been growing constantly. Dedicated solely to contemporary music, the NEM is acclaimed wherever it performs and is considered to be one of the finest contemporary music groups in existence.

• Diane Landry
• Sarah Peebles
• Hélène Boissinot
• Sylvie Chenard

Music can be more than just a matter of hearing. Touch, manipulation and installation are all elements that can change the way we listen and reveal new meaning. • Diane Landry shakes up perspective and forces us to perceive familiar objects in a different way. This visual artist creates fleeting three-dimensional and sound tableaux that form and disappear in time and space. • Sarah Peebles creates and improvises in real time with the aid of a computer. To pulverize synthetic sounds and sample pre-recorded music, she employs a full range of computer paraphernalia: mouse, keyboard, laptop and MIDI synthesizer. • Sylvie Chenard and Hélène Boissinot will offer a committed performance inspired by four rebel-women of the past. By marrying poetry, musical experimentation and the manipulation of objects, these two artists will invent strange scenes to a background of sound blending.

• Quatuor Claudel

You need a lot of adjectives to describe a string quartet such as the Claudel properly. The lyricism is inspired, the performances are of remarkable quality, the cohesion exceptional and the synchronization infallible. • Formed in 1989 by the superb violinists Élaine Marcil and Marie-Josée Arpin, this quartet is known for its uncommon intensity and integrity. With a program that includes the only string quartet written by Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux, this concert will present the work of non-Canadian composers, and this exception will provide us with a rare opportunity to listen to the music of Sophia Goubaïdoulina and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. These are demanding works for virtuoso instrumentalists only.

• Soul Sista, DJ (house/jazzy)

There are, happily, more and more women DJs in Montréal. Whether they are creating background music through the skillful mixing of different music, or creating totally new pieces, the DJettes are artists of the present. In tune both with their public and with the world of music, these exciting women are at the heart of new movements and on the cutting edge of new trends. • You will have the opportunity to discover and hear them in action at Laïka (the invitation is for cocktail time, please), one of the few venues in Montréal where they can be heard. You will be able to appreciate the full potential of an impressive performance style that demands great memory, exceptional dexterity and a powerful sense of rhythm.

• Ensemble de la SMCQ
• Walter Boudreau, conductor
• Nadya Blanchette, soprano
• Odette Beaupré, mezzo-soprano
• Pascal Mondieig, tenor
• Simon Fournier, baritone

Composer and librettist Marie Pelletier possesses demonic energy. She has more than sixty works to her credit, one-third of which fall into the category of musical theater. • In this new work the audience will take part in a talk show where two of the most powerful archetypes of the seducer-figure, Don Juan and Carmen, meet and clash. Six musicians, a conductor and four singers will be on stage. With its floating, dream-like structure, and to finely written music, this theater-within-theater questions these great authorities and asks “Why are we the way we are?” Marie Pelletier has some ironic answers for us.

• DJ Maüs, DJ (drum & bass)

There are, happily, more and more women DJs in Montréal. Whether they are creating background music through the skillful mixing of different music, or creating totally new pieces, the DJettes are artists of the present. In tune both with their public and with the world of music, these exciting women are at the heart of new movements and on the cutting edge of new trends. • You will have the opportunity to discover and hear them in action at Laïka (the invitation is for cocktail time, please), one of the few venues in Montréal where they can be heard. You will be able to appreciate the full potential of an impressive performance style that demands great memory, exceptional dexterity and a powerful sense of rhythm.

• Ensemble de la SMCQ
• Walter Boudreau, conductor
• Nadya Blanchette, soprano
• Odette Beaupré, mezzo-soprano
• Pascal Mondieig, tenor
• Simon Fournier, baritone

Composer and librettist Marie Pelletier possesses demonic energy. She has more than sixty works to her credit, one-third of which fall into the category of musical theater. • In this new work the audience will take part in a talk show where two of the most powerful archetypes of the seducer-figure, Don Juan and Carmen, meet and clash. Six musicians, a conductor and four singers will be on stage. With its floating, dream-like structure, and to finely written music, this theater-within-theater questions these great authorities and asks “Why are we the way we are?” Marie Pelletier has some ironic answers for us.

• Ensemble de la SMCQ
• Walter Boudreau, conductor
• Nadya Blanchette, soprano
• Odette Beaupré, mezzo-soprano
• Pascal Mondieig, tenor
• Simon Fournier, baritone

Composer and librettist Marie Pelletier possesses demonic energy. She has more than sixty works to her credit, one-third of which fall into the category of musical theater. • In this new work the audience will take part in a talk show where two of the most powerful archetypes of the seducer-figure, Don Juan and Carmen, meet and clash. Six musicians, a conductor and four singers will be on stage. With its floating, dream-like structure, and to finely written music, this theater-within-theater questions these great authorities and asks “Why are we the way we are?” Marie Pelletier has some ironic answers for us.

• Ensemble de la SMCQ
• Walter Boudreau, conductor
• Nadya Blanchette, soprano
• Odette Beaupré, mezzo-soprano
• Pascal Mondieig, tenor
• Simon Fournier, baritone

Composer and librettist Marie Pelletier possesses demonic energy. She has more than sixty works to her credit, one-third of which fall into the category of musical theater. • In this new work the audience will take part in a talk show where two of the most powerful archetypes of the seducer-figure, Don Juan and Carmen, meet and clash. Six musicians, a conductor and four singers will be on stage. With its floating, dream-like structure, and to finely written music, this theater-within-theater questions these great authorities and asks “Why are we the way we are?” Marie Pelletier has some ironic answers for us.