Two contiguous events this week will bring Rafael Payare into triple contact with the next generation of Montreal educational establishments. On Wednesday, young conductors and Thursday, young composers will face the Orchester symphonique de Montréal (OSM). It’s also a way for the institution to keep an eye on our young talents.
Free event with a pass, The new voices of musical creation, Thursday at 7:30 p.m., is presented by the OSM as an “exceptional meeting between the musicians of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and three young composers”, who “will have the exceptional opportunity to each have a new work read by the OSM”, under the direction of Rafael Payare. “For the public present, it will be a free opportunity to discover three new compositions and to delve into the creative process, from the emergence of a musical idea to its symphonic realization,” adds the institution.
Cornelian choice
The day before, three young chefs, Marie-France Mathieu in the opening of The force of destiny by Verdi; Léa Moisan-Perrier in the 1er movement of the 1D Symphony by Brahms and Frédéric-Alexandre Michaud in the overture to The bat by Strauss who will rub shoulders with the orchestra while benefiting from the advice of the musical director. Interestingly enough, the first is from the University of Montreal, the second from the Montreal Conservatory of Music (where she finished her course last May) and the third from McGill University. Unlike the composers’ workshop, the session with the young conductors will be held behind closed doors. “It is a request from Rafael Payare to keep it private. “It’s a lot of pressure for young people and he wants them to have a positive, enjoyable and enriching experience,” he told Duty Annie Saumier, director of education and community at the OSM.
“It’s very important for Rafael Payare to work with the next generation. Not just singers and instrumentalists, but also conductors and composers. He wanted to know the young chefs. We therefore asked the establishments to each put forward two of the strongest applications with CVs and videos. Everyone will have 20 to 25 minutes of work on a work that he or she has already directed. »
We immediately say to ourselves that the selection must have been a headache for someone like Rafael Payare: should we choose the best, on merit, or a profile to which he could bring more? “It was indeed very difficult for him to choose them; he wanted to take them all! We see that he has a very clear idea and that he identifies the type of work he can do depending on the level or type of musician,” confirms Ms. Saumier.
Rebelote
Regarding the composers’ workshop, there had already been a work reading event in April 2022, led by Jean-Michaël Lavoie, the future leader of the Nouvel Ensemble moderne. “Four young composers had been played by the OSM with small talks with Ana Sokolović before each [des oeuvres]. The format was well liked; we had a full audience and we wanted to repeat the experience by calling for applications. Composers had to be students from one of the three institutions. » The orchestrations accepted were somewhat restricted and the work submitted must not have been played professionally.
A committee evaluated 18 applications to arrive at one composer per institution (although more composers come from McGill). These three creators were chosen by a jury composed of Éric Champagne, Dina Gilbert and Ronald Vermeulen, director of programming at the OSM. The pieces lasting 8 to 13 minutes will be preceded by a short talk with Ana Sokolović who will provide listening tips. Rafael Payare will add Legends by Jacques Hétu during this event presented without intermission. The lucky ones are Frédérique Le Duc-Moreau with Unquiet Man ; Samuel Fecteau and his work Skrylâno and Alexis Raynault who will present Together.
It has not yet been defined whether an “elected” conductor will have the right to conduct part of an OSM concert or whether one of the composers will see one of his pieces created by Rafael Payare: “ There is nothing official related to these activities. The entire artistic team will attend these events. There is the desire to identify talents. The six people are in our ecosystem, we can have a big crush, but we don’t promise anything to anyone,” concludes Annie Saumier before the event.