Music at A&P

Sacred music in the heart of our city

If you are passionate about choral and instrumental sacred music, the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul is your home. Under the leadership of Choir Director Léa Moisan-Perrier and Interim Director of Music William Duffy, every Sunday morning from 10:45 a.m. is an important musical moment. The Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul are among Canada’s most celebrated choral ensembles and sings every Sunday and at many other concerts and special services throughout the year. The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul is a multicultural Presbyterian congregation in Montreal, at Bishop and Sherbrooke Streets. All are welcome! Our services are also streamed live on YouTube.

Musique à A&P

Musique sacrée au Coeur de notre ville

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Si vous êtes passionné par la musique sacrée chorale et instrumentale, vous vous sentirez chez vous à l’église St. Andrew et St. Paul. Une importante rencontre musicale a lieu chaque dimanche matin, à partir de 10 h 45. Sous la tutelle de la cheffe de chœur Léa Moisan-Perrier et du directeur de musique par intérim William Duffy, le chœur de St. Andrew and St. Paul est reconnu parmi les ensembles les plus éminents du Canada. Le chœur chante tous les dimanches ainsi qu'à de nombreux autres concerts et services spéciaux tout au long de l'année.

L’église de St. Andrew et St. Paul est une communauté presbytérienne multiculturelle située à l’angle des rues Bishop et Sherbrooke à Montréal. Bienvenue à tous!

Nos services liturgiques sont diffusés en direct sur YouTube.

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The Choir

The Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul

The Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul is one of Canada’s most advanced choral ensembles. Newly led by Léa Moisan-Perrier, the hybrid professional and volunteer choir includes some of the finest singers from the greater Montreal area. Current members and alumni of the Choir include professional choristers, opera singers, instrumentalists, and conductors. The Choir offers a collegial, fast-paced environment in which to experience great choral music within a vibrant, welcoming church community. The ensemble, known for its warm sound and clarity of texture, is acclaimed for its innovative programming and diversity of styles. The Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul can be heard on several recordings, including LUX (ATMA, 2017), REQUIEM (ATMA, 2018) and DISTANCE (ATMA 2021).

Auditions

The Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul is inviting auditions for volunteer chorister auditions from singers of all voice types. Interested singers are asked to attend the open choir rehearsal on Thursday, September 8, 2022 6:45-9:15pm, and subsequently audition in person on Saturday, September 10, 2022 between 1pm and 4pm. Please view the Call for Auditions document.

The Organ

The organ of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul was built in 1931 by the renowned Casavant Frères of Ste. Hyacinthe, as that firm's opus #1457. It is one of the largest instruments on the island of Montreal, containing nearly 7,000 pipes. About 70% of the pipes are located in the chancel; the other pipes speak from the rear gallery. Only the Trompette en chamade (installed in 1992) is visible, mounted prominently below the Black Watch window.

The instrument was cleaned and overhauled by Casavant in 1976-77, and several stops and a new console were added by Caron, Gagnon, Baumgarten in 1992. The tonal work of these rebuilds lent the instrument a neo-baroque flavour, but was unfortunately of uneven technical and musical quality. The console was rebuilt by Casavant in 2001. A gradual tonal renovation of the organ has been ongoing since 2010, whose goal is to replace the 1970s and 1990s-era neo-classical stops with pipework of the early 20th century, of superior material and tonal quality. Like all of the Casavant instruments built between ca. 1890 and 1960, op. 1457 was conceived in the late-Romantic Anglo-American style, and remains a monumental essay in the genre.

The tonal design of the instrument was conceived for the playing of orchestral transcriptions and orchestrally-inspired solo repertoire and accompaniments; the Wagnerian orchestra, with its kaleidoscopic yet seamless colour changes, was the aesthetic ideal for many organists of the period.

Console of the 7,000-pipe Casavant organ, built in 1931.

Fast Facts

Built in 1932 by Casavant Fréres Ltée, Opus 1457
Rebuilt in 1977 (Casavant) and 1992 (Caron-Gagnon-Baumgarten Inc.)
New Main Console, and addition of a 3-manual Tower Console in 2001 (Casavant)
Ongoing restoration with vintage pipework, 2009-present
Main Organ: 4 manuals, 87 stops, 80 ranks
Tower Organ 2 manual, 26 stops, 30 ranks
Total: 113 stops, 110 ranks

Stoplist

Main Great (C-c'''') (18 stops, 17 ranks) Double Open Diapason 16’ Open Diapason 8’ (1992) Violin Diapason 8’ Spitz Principal 8’ Rohrflute 8’ Octave 4’ Spitz Principal 4’ Harmonic Flute 4' (1921 Casavant) Twelfth 2 2/3’ Fifteenth 2’ Seventeenth 1 3/5’ (ca. 1920 Kimball) Fourniture IV 1 1/3’ (1992) Trumpet 8’ Clarion 4’ Chimes (Ch) Celesta (Ch) Zimbelstern (1992) Trompette-en-Chamade 8 (Solo) (1992) Main Choir (C-c'''') (17 stops, 19 ranks) Contra Gamba 16’ Violin Diapason 8’ (1921 Casavant) Melodia 8’ Cor de Nuit 8’ Dulciana 8’ Unda Maris 8’ Violina 4’ (ca. 1890 Warren) Flûte d'Amour 4’ Nazard 2 2/3’ Flageolet 2’ Tierce 1 3/5’ Plein Jeu IV 1’ (1992) Clarinet 8’ Cor Anglais 8’ (ca. 1920 Gottfried) Chimes Celesta Tremulant Trompette-en-Chamade 8’ (Solo) (1992) Main Swell (C-c'''') (21 stops, 23 ranks) Bourdon 16’ Open Diapason 8’ (1992) Hohlflute 8’ Gedeckt 8’ Quintadena 8’ (TC) (ca. 1940 Casavant) Viola da Gamba 8’ Voix Celeste 8’ Aeoline 8’ Octave 4’ (1992) Flauto Traverso 4’ Gambette 4’ Piccolo 2’ Sesquialtera II 2 2/3’ (1992) Mixture IV 2’ (1992) Double Trumpet 16’ Trumpet 8’ Oboe 8’ Vox Humana 8’ Clarion 4’ Chimes (Ch) Celesta (Ch) Tremulant Main Solo (C-c'''') (11 stops, 11 ranks) Stentorphone 8’ Flauto Mirabilis 8’ Viole d'Orchestre 8’ Viole Celeste 8’ Fugara 4’ Tuba Magna 16’ Tuba Mirabilis 8’ French Horn 8’ Orchestral Oboe 8’ Tuba Clarion 4’ Trompette-en-chamade 8’ (1992) Tremulant Main Pedal (C-g''') (21 stops, 10 ranks) Double Open Diapason 32’ (wood; 1-12 resultant, with dedicated Quint 10 2/3’) Contra Bourdon 32’ (Sw, resultant) Open Diapason 16’ (ext) Principal 16’ (1992) Bourdon 16’ Open Metal 16’ (Gt) Gedeckt 16’ (Sw) Gamba 16’ (Ch) Principal 8’ (ext) (1992/2002) Flute 8’ (ext Open Diapason 16) Stopped Flute 8’ (ext) Choral Bass 4’ (1932/1992) Flute 4’ (ext) Mixture IV 2 2/3’ (1992) Contra Trombone 32’ Trombone 16’ (ext) Basson 16’ (1980s Laukhuff) Trumpet 8’ (ext) Clarion 4’ (ext) Trompette-en-chamade 8’ (1992) Clairon-en-chamade 4’ (1992) Tower Great (C-c'''') (8 stops, 10 ranks) Open Diapason 8’ Doppelflute 8’ (wood) Salicional 8’ Principal 4’ Waldflute 4’ (wood) Fifteenth 2’ Plein Jeu III 1 1/3’ (1992) Trumpet 8’ Tower Swell (C-c'''') (12 stops, 16 ranks) Violin Diapason 8’ Stopped Flute 8’ Viola da Gamba 8’ Voix Celeste 8’ Violina 4’ Harmonic Flute 4’ Piccolo 2’ Sesquialtera II 2 2/3’ Mixture IV 1 1/3’ (1992) Oboe 8’ French Horn 8’ (ca. 1915 Gottfried) Vox Humana 8 (1921 Casavant) Tremulant Tower Pedal (C-g''') (6 stops, 4 ranks) Contra Bourdon 32’ (Main) Open Diapason 16’ (wood) Bourdon 16’ Stopped Flute 8’ (ext) Cello 8’ Trombone 16’ Accessories Choir, Main Swell, Tower Swell and Solo expression pedals Main Full Organ Tower Full Organ Sforzando Cymbelstern (toe reversible only) Pedal Divide Wind Indicators 128 memory levels SSL List System (registration sequencer) Crescendo Pedal (A, B & C settings) 8 general pistons (thumb & toe) 6 divisional pistons each to Solo and Pedal 8 divisional pistons each to Swell, Great and Choir;

Music Staff

Choir Director

Léa Moisan-Perrier

Ms. Léa Moisan-Perrier has been the artistic director of the Choeur des Enfants de Montréal (CEM) since 2017, and is the artistic director of Les Voix Parallèles, a choir made up of graduates of l’École de Musique Vincent d’Indy that she founded in 2015. She is the holder of undergraduate degrees in piano performance and vocal performance, a master’s degree in choral conducting and a certificate in orchestral conducting and will complete her master’s degree in orchestral conducting under Jacques Lacombe and Jean-Marie Zeitouni in 2023. Her work with the CEM led her to add two new age-group choirs to its organization in partnership with Share the Warmth in Pointe St-Charles to provide underprivileged children with a choral singing experience. We are glad to welcome her to our church family.

Interim Director of Music

William Duffy

Sought after for his “command of the seemingly impossible high tessitura” (South Florida Classical Review), California-born countertenor William Duffy is an active early music soloist and ensemble singer in North America. While his first contact with music was through the strings of his 1/16 Suzuki violin, today William prefers the medium of vibrating air with his body as the instrument. He continues to explore the extremes of his musical voice through the music of the renaissance, baroque, and today. William appears frequently as a soloist and ensemble singer in Canada and the US, most notably with Seraphic Fire, Les Idées heureuses, Ensemble Caprice, and Ensemble vocal arts-Québec. William holds degrees in vocal performance (California State University, Chico) and choral conducting (McGill University). As a conductor, educator, and ensemble manager, William has worked with choirs of all types, including the Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul, San Francisco-based Chanticleer Skills/LAB Choir, the award-winning Cantabella Children’s Chorus, Ottawa Choral Society, The National Youth Choir of Canada, and the McGill Schulich Singers. William is delighted to be in his eighth season with the Choir of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul.

Interim General Manager

Stephanie Manias

Known for her lush voice, dramatic artistry, and flexibility among many different genres of music, soprano Stephanie Manias is a frequent performer in the greater Montréal area. She is heard regularly as a soloist and chorister in some of Canada's most celebrated ensembles, such as Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montreal (SMAM), Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal (OSM), and La Chapelle de Québec with Les Violons du Roy. A member of the choir of the Church of St Andrew and St Paul for over ten years, Stephanie has held the position of Head Chorister since 2016. She has been a featured soloist in A&P’s productions of major masterworks by Bach, Handel and Mozart, as well as in its annual CBC Christmas Sing-In. Originally from London, Ontario, Stephanie is a graduate of the Voice Performance program at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University, where she studied with Canadian soprano Joanne Kolomyjec.

Interim Organist

Thomas Annand

Thomas Annand is widely regarded as one of Canada’s finest organists. After receiving First Prize in the RCCO National Organ Competition he became a student of the great French organist Marie-Claire Alain. Since then he has performed across Canada, the United States, Europe and South America. He has been a frequent soloist with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and Les Violons du Roy and has performed at such venues as the Carmel Bach Festival, Boston Early Music Festival, International Congress of Organists, Montreal Bach Festival and Ottawa International Chamber Music Festival. In 2021 he completed 29 years as Director of Music at St Andrew’s Church, Ottawa; under his direction the Choir grew to become a polished ensemble which not only performed the classic sacred repertoire every Sunday but also in annual concerts which regularly included the cantatas of J.S. Bach; during those years he also presented 200 weekly organ recitals covering 500 years of repertoire, notably the complete symphonies of Widor and integral cycles of the works of Liszt, Mendelssohn and Franck. He is also a noted harpsichordist (performing all the major keyboard works of Bach in seven marathon recitals in 2004/05), conductor (guest conductor of Thirteen Strings and founding conductor of Capital BrassWorks with whom he recorded a CBC SM5000 disc) and composer of choral and organ music. Thomas is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists (Healey Willan Prize) and holds a Master’s degree in Performance from McGill University where he was a student of John Grew and Hank Knox. He is married to soprano Wanda Procyshyn and lives in Ottawa with their two children, William and Helen. Fun fact: before taking up his duties in Ottawa, Thomas Annand was Assistant Organist at the Church of St Andrew & St Paul for one season under then Director of Music James Wells.

Director of Music Emeritus

Wayne K. Riddell CM

Wayne Riddell has been described by music critics as "a choral trainer of genius". The founder and former director of the Tudor Singers of Montreal, Mr. Riddell has established a reputation as one of Canada's distinguished musicians who instills in those who sing under his direction a consistent sense of ensemble and musicality which have been hailed by the most demanding of audiences and charmed the most difficult critics. His drive, personal discipline and sense of humour are reflected in the respect and devotion of all who have worked with him, whether artist or support staff. Mr. Riddell and the Tudor Singers have toured from coast to coast in Canada many times, as well as concertizing extensively in Europe and the United States. The choir has been frequently broadcast on the C.B.C. and has several recordings to its credit. Mr. Riddell is a graduate of McGill University where he also served for a number of years as Director of Choral Music Activities. He also studied in West Germany as a guest of that country's government. In 1980 the choir was awarded the first Healey Willan Prize by the Canada Council. He was chorus master of the Montreal Symphony and has been invited as guest conductor of that and other orchestras. Mr. Riddell is in constant demand as an adjudicator, workshop leader and guest conductor with many of Canada's leading choirs and orchestras. In addition, Mr. Riddell maintains an active performing and conducting career abroad. In July 1988, Wayne Riddell was named a member of the "Order of Canada" in recognition of this outstanding contribution to choral music. In May 1992 he was honoured with the "Distinguished Service Award" from the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors.