The 2023 Festival de Lanaudière: An undeniably bold and highly successful season!

The 2023 Festival de Lanaudière: An undeniably bold and highly successful season! !

Attendance at the Festival exceeded pre-pandemic numbers and featured  distinctive, rich programming.

Joliette, Thursday, August 10, 2023 From July 7 through August 6, the Festival de Lanaudière brought classical music to new heights throughout the Lanaudière Region with close to forty daring and diverse events. Today, the Festival team takes immense pride in this latest edition of the Festival: critically acclaimed concerts, an average 20% increase in attendance per concert under the roof of the Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lindsay, and an offer of numerous new features in its programming.

Once again, the Festival demonstrated its position as a unique hub of leading artistry in the world of classical music, with the strong presence of prominent international ensembles and soloists and a varied constellation of local artists. This year, to the great delight of festivalgoers, over 1,000 musicians took the Festival stage, including more than 200 international musicians!

 « “Once again this year, summertime classical music in Canada converged on Lanaudière. Reflecting our aims and values, our 2023 Festival season created unique crossroads and an exceptional meeting place for our audiences and for some of the world’s greatest artists. The Festival de Lanaudière is both a celebration and a window on the world. If music is the mirror of life, it has never been truer than here.” » - Renaud Loranger, Artistic Director of the Festival de Lanaudière

UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS AT THE AMPHITHEATRE FERNAND-LINDSAY

The Festival presented 14 large-scale concerts at the Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lindsay, its home venue every summer. The Festival could not have seen a more spectacular kick-off than this year’s performance given by the l’Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and Rafael Payarealong with a quartet of handpicked soloists and the Festival Choral Ensemble, who performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for an onsite audience of more than 5,000!

Over five weekends at the Amphitheatre, such momentous events continued unabated: a thunderous ovation lasting some fifteen minutes followingOrfeo of Monteverdi by the Cappella Mediterranea; the much anticipated return of The Arts Florissants and William Christie for Partenope, with the outstanding singers of Le Jardin des Voix ; the exuberance of Strauss at the Summit with Yannick Nézet-Séguin, l’Orchestre Métropolitain and a quartet of star horn players brought together auspiciously for the International Horn Symposium in Montreal.

Audiences had a chance to discover ensembles making their Canadian debut, such as the Cappella Mediterranea and Chœur de chambre de Namur, conducted by Leonardo García Alarcón and the National Youth Orchestra of USA, conducted by Sir Andrew Davis . Festivalgoers also reconnected with ensembles who enjoy close ties with the Festival, including Les Violons du Roy and Jonathan Cohen, Constantinople, and the Grands Ballets, as well as numerous prominent soloists of the classical world, such as violinist Gil Shaham, pianists Seong-Jin Cho, Denis Kozhukhin and Marc-André Hamelin, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, harpist Xavier de Maistre, and accordionist Richard Galliano

A FESTIVAL PRESENCE THROUGHOUT THE LANAUDIÈRE REGION

True to its tradition, the Festival de Lanaudière brought classical music to the entire Lanaudière Region, from Repentigny to Saint-Alphonse-Rodriguez, with a series of 8 concerts in churches presented by Desjardins. These frequently sold-out concerts were performed by musicians familiar with the world’s major stages, such as the all-Bach recital given by pianist Angela Hewitt and the concert Aimez-vous Brahms ? by a new trio formed by Alisa Weilerstein, Andrew Wan, and Charles Richard-Hamelin.

The Hors les murs series, presented by La Fabrique culturellealso shone brightly this year, with concerts—all of them sold out!—in unusual venues. Through strong partnerships with local agrotourism sites, the Festival presented 7 exciting concerts spotlighting young Quebec musicians, variously amid a lavender plantation, in a microbrewery warehouse, on a bison farm, or in a heritage barn in the middle of a squash field!

INNOVATION, ADVENTURE… AND ACCESSIBILITY! !

Innovation and daring were at the very heart of this season, which also featured several free activities for music lovers of all ages! The Festival notably gave its first ever open house day on the Amphitheatre grounds, in collaboration with the Place des Arts, enabling families to discover this enchanting location free of charge, with playful workshops and concerts! As part of its free activities, the Festival also presented its first major concert in downtown Joliette, musical meditations on land and on water, as well as an open rehearsal for cultural and community organizations in the region. The Festival also increased the number of its outdoor musical film screenings at the Amphitheatre, from 4 to 6.

Alongside these free activities, the Festival revised its pricing structure to increase event accessibility. With tickets at $20 or $25 for all concerts, a new, more affordable category under the roof of the Amphitheatre, low-cost lawn seating for residents of Greater Joliette, free admission for young people aged 17 and under, and a 50% discount for young adults … the Festival is everyone’s to enjoy!

CONTINUED SUPPORT FOR YOUNG MUSICIANS

The Festival de Lanaudière’s Carrefour de développement de carrière pour musiciens émergents (Career development hub for emerging musicians) was back again this year! For 10 days, 6 up-and-coming Quebec classical musicians met with international artists and cultural managers visiting the Festival with the goal of developing the tools and networks they need to help them launch their careers on a global scale. This initiative will be repeated next year owing to the generous support of the Fondation Père-Lindsay and the Fonds Jacques-Martin.

Building on a long-standing partnership with the Camp musical Père-Lindsay, the Festival hosted a masterclass with the Concertmaster of Les Arts Florissants, Emmanuel Resche-Caserta, in addition to offering tickets to two concerts at the Amphitheatre for all young campers.

AN INCREASINGLY SUSTAINABLE FESTIVAL

Year after year, the experience of Festival de Lanaudière audiences increasingly embraces the Lanaudière Region. Thus, the Festival’s food offering has been reviewed to give prominence to local producers, notably through Lanaudière snack bags, in collaboration with Vivez Lanaudière.

In the same spirit, greater attention is being paid to the Festival’s environmental impact, notably with the addition of a green brigade to sort residual materials at the Amphitheatre, reusable containers displaying the Festival’s brand, as well as shuttles from downtown Montreal and Joliette.

THANKS TO OUR PARTNERS

The Festival de Lanaudière wishes to thank its main partners: Presenting Sponsor Hydro-Québec, in collaboration with La Presse, the Government of Quebec, Tourisme Québec, the Government of Canada, the City of Joliette, Desjardins, Yamaha Musique, Ratelle, Power Corporation of Canada, Groupe Canimex, the Société de la Place des Arts, Patrick Morin, the Fondation Sandra et Alain Bouchard, the Azrieli Foundation, the Fondation J. A. De Sève, Air Canada, Promutuel Insurance, the Fonds de Solidarité FTQ, Joliette Lincoln, Ferme Régis, the City of Saint-Charles-Borromée, the City of Notre-Dame-des-Prairies and municipalities of the Region, Tourisme Lanaudière, as well as its many partners in the cultural, media, hotel, and restaurant sectors.

Concerts in Lanaudière churches were presented by Desjardins and concerts in the Hors les murs series were presented by La Fabrique culturelle. We extend thanks to all our partners and volunteers, who make the Festival possible. As the Festival prepares to inaugurate its brand-new Maison de la musique René-Charette this fall, the organization’s future looks especially bright.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL DE LANAUDIÈRE

Founded in 1978, the Festival de Lanaudière is today one of North America’s leading classical music festivals. Located in the heart of nature, the Festival offers a program that combines the best international talent with the best local artists. It takes place at the Amphitheatre Fernand-Lindsay as well as in churches and agritourism sites in the region. The immersive, warm and friendly experience it offers is a perfect blend of the world’s greatest concert halls … and the family cottage!

Source :

Lysa-Marie Rochon

Media relations, Festival de Lanaudière

lmrochon@exponentielconseil.com

(438) 843-9618, poste 113