Eclectic repertoire, with the voice as sole instrument
Beauty, rigour and emotion
Your concert was for me the surprise of the evening ... so very beautiful, so eclectic
​DONALD PATRIQUIN
composer and conductor
… an exquisite performance. Thank you for bringing my music to life with such artistry ...
BENJAMIN BOLDEN
composer and music educator
I was delighted by the quality of the intonation, the dynamics, the precise diction and the balance among the voices throughout the concert
JEAN-CHARLES CÔTÉ
composer
THE CHOIR
From its beginnings as a small a cappella group in 1987, the Sainte-Anne Singers has attracted members who take a particular pleasure in creating beautiful harmonies with the voice alone, and in communicating that pleasure to their audience. It now includes roughly 24 singers from the West Island, Greater Montreal and beyond.
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​Much of its repertoire is contemporary, with a particular emphasis on Canadian composers, but the group also performs works of the Renaissance and the 19th and 20th centuries, as well as sophisticated pop and folk arrangements.
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Over the years, the Sainte-Anne Singers has enjoyed multiple collaborations with the Montreal Chamber Orchestra (Wanda Kaluzny), the McGill University Children’s and Youth Choirs, the John Laing Singers (Hamilton) and the St. Lawrence Choir.
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It has been a frequent participant in events such as the Mondial choral Loto-Québec, the Canadian Connections concert series sponsored by the Montreal Choral Institute, the Festival de musique religieuse, the Nuit des Choeurs of the Festival Bach de Montréal, the Festival de la Voix (West Island), the Classical Spree concerts sponsored by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the Festival de chant choral de Montréal (2022).
The Sainte-Anne Singers has also performed at Podium, Canada’s biennial choral conference, in 2012 (Ottawa), 2014 (Halifax) and 2024 (Montreal).
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​The ensemble has received numerous awards, including first place at the advanced level of the ARCIM competition (2001), second place in the chamber choir category of the National Competition for Canadian Amateur Choirs (2010, 2015), and finalist in the same category in 2019.
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Along with the Choeur de chambre du Québec and the Chœur du Plateau, the Sainte-Anne Singers was designated a “Choeur fleuron” by the Alliance chorale du Québec in 2019, in recognition of its musical quality and its contribution to Quebec choral life.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR
Passionate about a cappella, Margo Keenan studied voice privately and sang for many years in several a cappella quartets in and around Montreal. She has taught music at the primary level and founded and directed numerous choirs in elementary and secondary schools in the Montreal area.
​Margo founded the Sainte-Anne Singers in 1987. After completing the advanced level of the Programme de formation pour les chefs de choeur (Alliance chorale du Québec) in 2000, she studied conducting privately with Peter Schubert and Michael Zaugg. In 2013, she was presented with the Prix Jean-Pierre Guindon in recognition of her contribution to choral singing in Quebec over more than twenty-five years.
From 2014 to 2019, Margo directed Vox Aeterna, a 60-voice choir which formed for one month each spring as part of the West Island-based Festival de la voix. Since 2014, she has also directed the Philomela Singers, a community choir based in Montreal’s West Island.
THE SINGERS
SOPRANO
ALTO
TENOR
BASS
Jessica Burpee
Marie Dallaire
Dorianne Deshaies
Maura Forrest
Isabelle Lafrenière
Katrina Lowe
Imke Mühlstephan
Ann Cascarano
Marie Landry
Nancy Lepine
Gabrielle Plowens
Georgia Smith
Mary Tsartolias
​Jean Jeukens
Alex Larson
Normand Miron
Claude Roy (invité)
Léonce Sanou
Daniel Taillon
CONCERTS
“Nous sommes tous créés de la même matière”. This is part of a text from the 13th-century Sufi mystic Saadi, reflecting on the interconnectedness of all humanity. It forms part of the lyrics of Ni de l’est ni de l’ouest, by Montreal composer William Kraushaar, and its theme is at the heart of our spring concert, Connexions.
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British composer Cecilia McDowall’s A Tree Is a Song is an exuberant ode to the “web of meaning” created among trees through their roots.
The Ojibway text of Andrew Balfour’s Omaa Biindig (“here inside”) binds together earth, water and the four cardinal points in a chant-like invocation.
Other works by Don Macdonald, Sarah Quartel, Jean-Charles Côté, Marie-Claire Saindon and Katharine Petkovski celebrate the joys of love and of music that bring us together.
To see the complete programme, click here.
AUDITIONS
​Rehearsals, which are bilingual, are at the Merging Waters United Church, 24 Maple in Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue on Monday nights, from 7:30 pm to 10:00 pm, September to May. Two extra Thursday night rehearsals are scheduled before the December and May concerts.
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If you enjoy a challenge, have choral experience, excellent pitch and some sight-reading ability, contact Margo Keenan at keenanmargo@gmail.com to arrange an audition.
The Sainte-Anne Singers
are a member of :
CONTACT
The Sainte-Anne Singers
32, Perrault, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue (Québec) H9X 2C9​
Tél : 514 654-9149​​
In accordance with Law 25, the Sainte-Anne Singers does not share any personal information with any other person or organization without the express permission of the member involved.