The Contemporary Music Society of Quebec (SMCQ) appointed Simon Bertrand as interim artistic director last Wednesday, following the departure of Ana Sokolovic last June. His mandate, lasting six months, is linked to a mission to reflect on the functioning and future of the company.
Simon Bertrand’s acceptance of a temporary position was made by “a joint decision with the board of directors” according to the person concerned. Duty. The SMCQ begins a five-year strategic reflection. “This is particularly decisive for its future,” judges the interim artistic director, who will involve an “advisory committee of four composers”.
When asked if the reflection includes the very usefulness of the SMCQ, Mr. Bertrand retorts “Yes, of course! It is therefore an approach that I take very seriously, because the SMCQ is an essential organization. »
The questions of mission, vision, development, programming, concert format, audience development and cultural mediation will be addressed with the administrative team, the appointed chef Cristian Gort, the management, the board of directors (CA) and an advisory committee being formed with the aim of reflecting on a five-year strategic plan. This reflection must end in February.
New needs
Could we be led to see, after reflection, that Simon Bertrand is the right person to lead the boat and apply the remedies? “It will be a decision of the Board when the time comes,” says the composer, whose priority remains the mandate to be completed in the next six months. Is he potentially a candidate? “Yes, perhaps,” says the one who puts an end to this kind of conjecture.
“We are coming out of artistic direction for 33 years, and the challenges of Walter Boudreau, appointed in the 1980s, were not the same as those of today. Walter was a pioneer to create an environment that did not exist. In 2023, it’s very different: the environment has evolved, there are very diverse musical aesthetics, fewer aesthetic dogmas. We need to reflect this diversity and think about the question: who is our audience and how are we going to seek it out? »
In the eyes of Simon Bertrand, “we have often taken it for granted that the conventional classical music community was the target audience. I always had doubts about that. We must therefore take the pulse of the community, question the speakers, the artisans, the performers, the new people who arrive and decide to devote themselves to living composers. We must gauge the expectations and needs of the community. This is the direction I want to go. The important thing is the reflection that I will generate and the results that I will obtain. The duration is not important, so I agreed to the interim.”
Simon Bertrand thinks it is necessary for the SMCQ “to stay on the lookout for new generations”. He also finds that there are no reasons that we keep in the 21ste century an old concert formula from the 19th centurye and XXe centuries “with tailcoats and applause”. “Is this the framework for what composers compose today? » he asks himself. “There are a lot of thoughts like that! » underlines the temporary worker, who will have a lot of work in six short months.
Simon Bertrand does not think that Le Vivier is carving out generational dealers at the SMCQ: “I see complementarity, not competition. Le Vivier is more focused on performers and ensembles, while the SMCQ was created by composers for composers. And composers need the SMCQ, now more than ever. »
In the ways of disseminating and reflecting musical diversity, the new director also intends to “draw lessons on the potential for expanding the audience discovered during the pandemic. We could then collect thousands of people instead of hundreds. I’m going to surround myself with people who will help me think about this and take the pulse of the industry. I am very motivated “.
A necessary reflection for the promotion of the work of composers.