Voces Boreales, in its largest formation of 40 voices, showcases Slavic choral music from the past and present: from the magnificent Vespers … [more]
Pipe Dreams will be streamed as part of the 1st International Online Organ Festival (IOOF). Ticketholders can stream the documentary at any time during the festival, which takes place from April 18th until May 1st.
Pipe Dreams follows five young … [more]
Read our interview with Chelsea Chen below & scroll down to see how you can be our next featured organist!
What is your first memory of the organ? One of my earliest memories of the organ was watching a silent film accompanied by Dennis James at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in … [more]
The CIOC is thrilled to announce its collaboration with Duo AIRS and Le Vivier to present The First Movement of the Immovable … [more]
Event Details:
Date: Sunday March 27th
Time: 3:00PM
Location: Saints-Anges Church, 1400 boul. Saint-Joseph, Lachine
… [more]
Laurence Jobidon
Réconciliation (Laurence Jobidon)
Quebecois composer and organist, Laurence Jobidon has written for a variety of ensembles, notably chamber, solo, vocal and orchestral music. She studied organ with Danny Bélisle and Pamela Gill Eby and composition with Andrew P. MacDonald. Her music has been showcased in North America and Europe in venues such as the SMCQ, the Canadian Opera Company … [more]
The CIOC board of directors announced today that Executive Director Thomas Leslie will leave his position in July 2022. He has accepted a position to lead the Macdonald Stewart Foundation in support of its philanthropic mission.
Since joining the CIOC in 2012, Thomas has worked closely with CIOC co-founder John Grew and current artistic director Jean-Willy Kunz in expanding the scope and artistic impact of the organization. Strong partnerships with other arts organizations in Montreal have enabled the CIOC to become a leading concert presenter, recognized as one of the premier organ competitions in the world.
Thomas launched the first annual festival in 2012, and in 2013 created the ‘Orgue et son lieu’ national concert series, bringing CIOC prizewinners to perform in communities across Canada. A constant innovator and never one to shy away from a challenge, Thomas ensured that the CIOC survived and thrived during the pandemic by conceiving our Bach-Mobile for outdoor performances and rapidly developing our capacity as a first-rate digital content producer.
Thomas leaves the CIOC in a strong financial position, having thoroughly diversified funding sources, and achieved significant increases in both public funding and earned revenues.
“It has been a great pleasure to work with Thomas. No matter what challenges came our way, Thomas found solutions and that was certainly the case in the last two years with the pandemic causing us to postpone our 2020 competition until 2021. He led a bright, hardworking and creative team and I thank him for all he has done for the CIOC and the organ world overall.” – Jean-Willy Kunz, Artistic Director
“Thanks to Thomas, the CIOC has a bright and exciting future, and we thank him for all his contributions which extend to every aspect of our organization”, says Board Chair Pierre Goulet. “The Board of Directors has put a Search Committee in place and is actively seeking a new Executive Director”.
Journalist Scott Cantrell of The American Organist magazine offers succinct praise for the CIOC team that Thomas has led for the past decade: “… bravi to all who produced such an elaborately organized competition—and festival—in so challenging a time.”
The CIOC and the Bach-Mobile took a field trip to Granby Zoo for a special performance of Camille Saint–Saëns’ The Carnival of the Animals (Le Carnaval des animaux) – and it was a true carnival of … [more]
Read our interview with Rashaan Allwood below & scroll down to see how you can be our next featured organist!
What is your first memory of the organ? I started my undergraduate degree in Piano Performance, and there was a course offered for anyone who wanted to try learning organ. I didn’t know… [more]
“Were You There?” – arranged by Dr. Uzee Brown, Jr. (b. 1950)
Uzee Brown Jr., from South Carolina, holds a doctoral degree from the University of Michigan and Bowling Green State University. He is a noted opera singer, composer, … [more]