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PRESS RELEASE for immediate distribution

The 6th OSM CLASSICAL SPREE Place des Arts and Complexe Desjardins will be teeming with FREE AND FAMILY-ORIENTED ACTIVITIES on August 11 and 12, indoors and out!

Montréal, August 7, 2017 ● This coming weekend, Friday and Saturday, August 11 and 12, a festive and completely

musical atmosphere will take hold of Place des Arts, its Esplanade, and Complexe Desjardins when the 6th OSM

CLASSICAL SPREE gets into full swing. A grand celebration of classical music, the 2017 SPREE is presenting, in

addition to its 30 or so indoor concerts, a host of free activities for the whole family. Outdoor cinema, an exciting

series of talks and demonstrations making for happy encounters or a chance to deepen our knowledge, young artists

and winners of the OSM Manulife Competition in performance – the heart of Montréal will be in SPREE mode!

Below, an overview of the various activities on the program for this new edition: so many opportunities to discover,

marvel, or simply enjoy.

All there is to know: VIREECLASSIQUE.OSM.CA

FRIDAY, AUGUST 11

AT PLACE DES ARTS Stingray Classica Stage, Espace culturel Georges-Émile-Lapalme

Starting at 5:15 p.m. Performance by Architek Percussion: four

percussionists to dazzle the ears; concert by OSM Manulife

Competition prizewinners Blake Pouliot on the violin and Cameron

Crozman on the cello, followed by a discussion between the musicians

and host Katerine Verebely; concert by the horn quartet Katcor in an

eclectic program ranging from classical to movie music.

Esplanade

8 p.m. screening under the stars of the movie version of the musical West Side

Story (1961), the great ’50s–New York tragic love story inspired by Romeo and

Juliet. An absolute masterpiece of American cinema that took no fewer than 10

Oscars in 1962! ORIGINAL ENGLISH VERSION, FRENCH SUBTITLES

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SATURDAY, AUGUST 12 AT PLACE DES ARTS Esplanade

10 a.m. Classical yoga in the open air led by physiotherapist Marie-Pierre Gervais, M.Sc., to the sounds of the most beautiful classical music. Bring your mat!

11:30 a.m. Hosted concert by Orchestre symphonique de l’Agora

1:15 p.m. Orchestre symphonique des jeunes de Montréal

3:15 p.m. Joint orchestra from Collège Notre-Dame and École Joseph-François-Perreault

5:15 p.m. Orchestre à vents non identifié (OVNI; wind band)

8 p.m. Screening of the Rossini opera The Barber of Seville. Fantastic situations and irresistible music have made this a classic of Italian opera buffa. A sparkling production from the Metropolitan Opera (2014), guaranteed to delight! ORIGINAL ITALIAN VERSION, FRENCH SUBTITLES

Sainte-Catherine St. , south side

11:30 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. It’s a feast –and on the menu, performances by artists from the Italian community – folk

dance group ALMA Canada, singer Salvatore Bruno and accordionist Joe Spina – students from the Stephenson

School of Highland Dance, and the Ekspresyon dance group from the Haitian community in collaboration with the

dance school Les Notes du Corps.

Stingray Classica Stage, Espace culturel Georges -Émile-Lapalme

11:45 a.m. Sharon Isbin – All the souls of the guitar The American musician who paved the way for throngs of young guitarists.

12:45 p.m. Did you know? – Musicians on hand for questions little and big Hosted by André Robitaille, for kids and grownups.

2:45, 5:30 and 8:15 p.m. Choros – Wind Quintet To spice up festival-goers’ day, Choros presents a music program with torrid accents!

3:30 p.m. OSM Manulife Competition prizewinners Concert by trombonist Keith Dyrda and clarinetist Eric Abramovitz.

4:30 p.m. The Kora – Fascinating Mandinka instrument The harp-lute of African griots, this 21-string instrument sits at the heart of an intriguing musical heritage. Discover it in the company of Zal Sissokho.

6:15 p.m. OSM Manulife Competition prizewinners Concert by violinists Nikki and Timothy Chooi.

7:15 p.m. Spotlight on Adam Johnson and the OSM The OSM’s assistant conductor will take the mystery out of how the orchestra works and the role of each musician. Educational and fun!

Maison symphonique lobby

At 10:45 a.m. and at 12:30, 2:15 and 4 p.m.: music awareness workshops On the theme of Peter and the Wolf, this

entertaining and dynamic workshop offers the very young (starting at four years old) the opportunity to discover the

world of rhythm and percussion. (*registration required)

Galerie Espace culturel Georges -Émile-Lapalme ● ESPACE DES ENFANTS

In collaboration with Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), here’s Espace des enfants (Space for

Kids) – a corner for reading and discovering the BAnQ resources, and a creative corner as well, where a collective

mural on a musical theme will take shape between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. Also, not to be missed, story time at 11:30

a.m. and 2:30 p.m.!

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AT COMPLEXE DESJARDINS’ GRANDE PLACE AND ITS TERRASSES MONTRÉALAISES Throughout the day, the next musical generation and artists from cultural communities get together to delight

festival-goers. An inclusive event, marking the 50th anniversary of Expo 67 and its World Festival of the arts.

Stage

12:15 p.m. Joint orchestra from Collège Notre-Dame and École Joseph-François-Perreault 2:15 p.m. Orchestre à vents non identifié (OVNI; wind band) 4:15 p.m. Hosted concert by Orchestre symphonique de l’Agora 5:15 p.m. Orchestre symphonique des jeunes de Montréal

Near the Terrasses Montréalaises

11:30 a.m. Performance by students from the Stephenson School of Highland Dance 1:15 p.m. Performance by the Haitian community’s Ekspresyon dance group in collaboration with the Notes du Corps dance school 3:15 p.m. Performance by artists from the Italian community

o ALMA Canada o Salvatore Bruno, pop singer o Joe Spina, accordionist

CISM (89.3 FM), RADIO-CLASSIQUE (99.5 FM) AND ICI MUSIQUE (100.7 FM)

WILL BROADCAST SPECIAL PROGRAMMING LIVE FROM THE OSM CLASSICAL SPREE

We should also mention the presence of a number of presenters’ and other SPREE partners’ stands installed at Place

des Arts and at Complexe Desjardins. Among these, the Espace OSM stand, where interviews and film screenings will

take place, the DOMTAR Space for get-togethers with artists, and the YAMAHA Space for an instrument exhibition.

Not to forget: the Bar Place Deschamps, an interactive zoo in front of Le Seingalt, musical boxes, musical bicycles,

and the Complexe Desjardins miniature train…

What has become a don’t-miss family event, the OSM CLASSICAL SPREE is launching its 6th edition on August 10

with the presentation of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess in a free grand-scale concert on the Esplanade Financière Sun

Life at Olympic Park. A true four-day marathon of music, the festival also offers 30 or so 45-minute concerts –

starting at just $10! – presented in the four halls of Place des Arts.

The OSM thanks its partners:

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal wishes to thank the Secrétariat à la région métropolitaine of the Québec Department of Municipal Affairs and Land Occupancy, the Québec Department of Tourism and Ville de Montréal. Presenter of the OSM: Hydro-Québec Collaborator and host of the event: Place des Arts Major partner: Government of Québec Privileged partners: ICI Musique and Complexe Desjardins Space partners: Air Canada, Domtar, Stingray Classica, Fillion électronique, Yamaha Canada Music, Twigg, Radio-Classique, Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal Suppliers: ABP, Solotech, Metropolitan Opera, Cineplex, Dix au Carré, Eska, Karibu Associate partners: Tourisme Montréal, Manulife Media partners: Medici.tv, CISM Outdoor-program partner: Friends of the OSM Public partners: Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, Canada Council for the Arts, Conseil des arts de Montréal, Ville de Montréal

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INFORMATION Natalie Dion, Head, Public and Media Relations, 514 840-7436 ● C.: 514 266-3466 ● ndion@osm.ca

mailto:ndion@osm.ca