Arion starts its 30th season with the St John Passion by J.S. Bach

The performances will be held at 8.00 pm at the St. Viateur Church in Outremont. The programme will also be performed on Sunday, November 28, at 3:00 pm at the Dominion Chalmers United Church in Ottawa. For this great event, Arion will be joined by guest conductor Alex Weimann and Les Voix Baroques. All together there will be 35 musicians on stage.

• Soloists: Jan Kobow, tenor (St. John Evangelist); Stephan Macleod, bass (Jesus); Joshua Hopkins, bass (Peter) ; Nathaniel Watson, bass (Pontius Pilate); Shannon Mercer, soprano; Matthew White, alto; Lawrence Wiliford, tenor.
The concert will be recorded for broadcast on April 21^st at 8pm by Espace musique, Radio-Canada’s music station, and for broadcast on April 17^th at 9am by CBC Radio Two. A conference on the work will also be presented 45 minutes before the concert by the Scena Musical critic Philippe Gervais. Tickets run from $14 to $58. Don’t miss out; reserve your seats now, on line at www.arionbaroque.com, by e-mailing us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , or by phone at 514-355-1825.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), The St John Passion (BWV 245)

• Guest Conductor:: Alex Weimann, organ

• Friday, November 26, and Saturday, November 27, at 8:00 pm
• St. Viateur Church in Outremont, 183 avenue Bloomfield (access via Laurier)

Arion’s Artistic Director Claire Guimond shares her excitement, “We are delighted with this project that brings together Arion and the Voix Baroques, an ensemble noted both for its superb solo voices as well as its ensemble singing. With this first concert of Arion’s 30^th season and of the 2010 Montreal Bach Festival, we hope to let audiences experience the full grandeur and intimacy of this exceptionally dramatic work.”

Conductor Alex Weiman adds, “This work, like few others, represents the absolute elevation of the soul and of the spirit, and interpreting its richness and its eternal message well is a challenge for any musician.”  

Alex Weimann

Alexander Weimann is one of the most sought-after ensemble directors, soloists and chamber music partners of his generation. He has traveled the world as a member of the ensemble Tragicomedia, is a frequent guest of ensembles such as Cantus Cölln, Freiburger Barockorchester, Gesualdo Consort and Tafelmusik, and musical director of Les Voix Baroques, Tempo Rubato and Le Nouvel Opéra. He is particularly interested in musical theatre; in the past couple of years, he has come out with celebrated productions of Caldara’s Clodoveo, Handel's Resurrezione and Rameau's Pygmalion, Purcell's Fairy Queen, all for festivals in Vancouver, Montreal and Berlin.

Les Voix Baroques

Les Voix Baroques is an ensemble of vocal soloists specializing in works from the Renaissance and Baroque. Past projects include Bach's St. John and St. Matthew Passion with Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, Bach Cantatas with Ensemble Les Boreades, a tour of Germany with IConfidenti Berlin and a 2007 Juno Nominated and Opus award winning Atma recording of Buxtehude's Membra Jesu Nostri with Les Voix Humaines and conductor Alexander Weimann. Les Voix Baroques have appeared in concert with Festival Vancouver, the Boston Early Music Festival, Houston's Mercury Baroque Orchestra, Montreal Baroque, the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival, Nova Scotia's Music Royale, the Sackville Early Music Festival, Domaine Forget, the Elora Festival and in two Opus Award winning concerts produced by CBC for their McGill Concert Series

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About Arion Baroque Orchestra

Arion Baroque Orchestra, founded in 1981, is the only early music orchestra performing on period instruments in Québec and one of the most renowned early music ensembles in North America. Led by the enlightened artistic vision of flutist Claire Guimond, the orchestra offers a prestigious concert series in Montréal featuring more than twenty musicians and with the participation of internationally known guest conductors. The clarity and freshness of Arion’s interpretations have been remarked through the concert tours in Japan, United States, Europe and Mexico. Arion has also put together an impressive recording collection with 26 titles both as an ensemble and as an orchestra, distributed internationally and on the web. 

The Orchestra would like to thank the concert’s official sponsor:

La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec

De même que ses partenaires privés et publics :

Festival Bach de Montréal édition 2010

Espace musique

CBC Radio two

Transcontinental

La Presse & Cyberpresse

Radio-Classique, CJPX

Gaz Métro

Hydro-Québec

Conseil des arts du Canada

Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec

Conseil des arts de Montréal

Patrimoine canadien