A major venue for classical music

Far from resting on its laurels, the Festival de Lanaudière, already on the list of the most important classical music events in North America, is still aiming high with its project for a house of music.

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The Festival, established with its amphitheater in the south of the city of Joliette for several decades, is now eyeing the city center of the Lanaudière capital for the establishment of this future headquarters of classical music which will bear the name of René Charette, one of its founders.


Rene Charette

COURTESY PHOTO

Rene Charette

The objective: to position the region as the undeniable hub of classical music in Canada.

The Festival’s head office will be moved there and those of partner cultural organizations will also be set up there.

The $2.5 million project, which should be completed within the next year, provides for the development of a multifunctional room and another dedicated to cultural mediation, as well as a media library allowing musicians to consult collections of scores and discs.

“We are really talking about a return to a balance between international ambition and very strong local roots, explained in an interview Xavier Roy, general manager of the Festival de Lanaudière, stressing that it is the will of the locals who have is the strength of the festival at the beginning in 1978. It will go through the programming of the festival in the summer, but especially with the activities that we will set up year-round with the Maison de la musique René-Charette.


A major venue for classical music

Photo courtesy: Hétu-Bellehumeur architectes inc.

The House will also house a performance hall with approximately 100 seats for recitals, recordings, rehearsals and creative residencies.

“She will consolidate […] our commitment to young people with the establishment of a center of expertise in music education, added Mr. Roy. It will also be the scene of meetings between the public, amateur musicians and professional musicians.

Tribute to a visionary music lover

René Charrette, who died nearly three years ago, was one of the founding trio of the Festival in the late 1970s (along with Father Fernand Lindsay and former federal minister Marcel Masse, both also deceased).

“From the founding of the Festival, René Charette was very involved in it, until his last breath on July 4, 2019, underlined the Festival, in March, during the announcement of the Maison de la musique René-Charette project. . In agreement with the Charette family, the Festival de Lanaudière thought it was important to underline its immense heritage bequeathed to culture in the region, the influence of which today goes beyond our borders.

Mr. Charette was also at the center of the project for an amphitheater for the Festival, when he chaired the board of directors of the musical event. The highly anticipated facility was inaugurated in 1989.

“He was a lover of classical music, especially opera, told us Jacques Martin, mayor of Joliette from 1982 to 1990, himself very involved in the development of music in his community, particularly within the Festival . He would be happy to see that.”

Often referred to as a “great Lanaudois”, René Charette also made a name for himself as director of the Société nationale des Québécois de Lanaudière, of which he was head for many years.


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