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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 Organist & Director of Music Jonas Apeland, 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 et organiste Jonas Apeland, 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 the 2023-24 season from volunteer singers of all voice types. Singers should indicate their interest by no later than August 24, 2023, and a number of applicants will be invited to audition in-person on the evening of August 31, 2023. Please view the Call for Auditions document for audition details, including how to apply, and more information about the choir and the audition process.

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.

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

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

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 Conductor

Léa Moisan-Perrier

Léa Moisan-Perrier approaches conducting with sensitivity and dynamism, standing out for her versatility and the effectiveness of her communication on stage. Most recently, Moisan-Perrier has been invited to conduct various orchestras such as the Orchestre symphonique de Laval, the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières and the Orchestre symphonique du Conservatoire de la Montérégie. She is currently a finalist for the position of Artistic Director of the Orchestre symphonique de l'Estuaire, where she is conducting two programs this season. In 2018, she assisted Maestro Lacombe at the Opéra National du Rhin for the production of Offenbach's Barkouf. Always working to refine her skills, Moisan-Perrier has participated in various master classes, including with the OSM and Rafael Payare in the spring of 2021. Alongside her orchestral conducting pursuits, Moisan-Perrier enjoys a successful career as a choral conductor. In June 2022, she was appointed the prestigious position of Choir Director and Conductor of the Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul in Montreal. Artistic Director of the Chœur des enfants de Montréal since 2017, she leads the organization, through its ambitious and refined programs, to push its limits and to perform with diverse ensembles of professional musicians. Founder of the Les Voix parallèles de l'École de musique Vincent-d'Indy, Moisan-Perrier remained the Artistic Director until May of 2022. In the spring of 2023, Léa Moisan-Perrier will complete her master's degree in conducting at the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal under the direction of Jacques Lacombe and Jean-Marie Zeitouni. Having also trained as a pianist, singer and choral conductor, she is a graduate in piano from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, holds a Master's Degree in choral conducting from the Université de Sherbrooke, as well as a Bachelor's Degree in classical singing from the Université de Montréal. Moisan-Perrier is the recipient of a scholarship of excellence from the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal in 2022, the 2016 Moulin Seigneurial scholarship, and the 2017 Iwan Edwards Prize awarded by Andrew Megill.

Organist & Director of Music

Jonas Apeland

Jonas Apeland is a Norwegian musician who we welcomed to our church this summer. Multilingual, with long-time church experience, Jonas holds a Master’s degree in organ performance from the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris. He also spent an exchange year at the Schulich School of Music at McGill University during his studies at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo. Jonas has attended many services at The Church of St. Andrew and St. Paul during his time in Montreal. Until his new appointment with our church, he has been the Director of Music at St. John’s Church in Bergen, Norway. He also substitutes as a conductor for the Oslo Kammerkor choir, one of Norway’s leading vocal ensembles. The Church of Norway, in its liturgy, has structure in its services very similar to the liturgy of The Church of St Andrew and St Paul. In Jonas’ own words, “I was raised in a church, and I have heard organ and church music since I was born. I love playing concerts and giving lectures, but my true calling is playing hymns for great singing congregations. Becoming a church musician has been the natural choice and my calling for as long as I can remember.”

Interim General Choir 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.