The Chorale Saint-Jean is a

choir A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...

based in

Edmonton Edmonton is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. It is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Central Alberta ...

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

. Established in 1937, it is the largest and most active

Francophone The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...

choir in

Western Canada Western Canada, also referred to as the Western provinces, Canadian West, or Western provinces of Canada, and commonly known within Canada as the West, is a list of regions of Canada, Canadian region that includes the four western provinces and t ...

. It is based at the Campus Saint-Jean of the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta (also known as U of A or UAlberta, ) is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford, the first premier of Alberta, and Henry Marshall Tory, t ...

History and directorship

The Chorale Saint-Jean was founded in 1937 under Père Lucien Pépin and became affiliated with the

in the early 1960s. It became defunct in 1983, but was reborn in 1994 under the direction of Laurier Fagnan, a

Franco-Albertan Franco-Albertans () are francophone residents of the Canadian province of Alberta. Franco-Albertans is a term primarily used to denote the province's francophone residents. In the 2016 Canadian Census, there were 86,705 Albertans that stated their ...

conductor and vocal coach, who opened the choir not just to students but to the broader Franco-Albertan community. In 2016, the creation of an associated children's choir, Les Petits chanteurs de Saint-Jean ("The Little Singers of Saint-Jean"), was announced. In 2023, the choir reached an agreement with the Campus Saint-Jean in which the campus would provide ongoing funding and space for the choir, while the choir would serve as ambassadors for the campus. From 2020 to 2022, director Laurier Fagnan served as president of the arts organization Choral Canada, which represents choirs across Canada. He has contributed to interdisciplinary research projects on whether choral singing influences

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

transmission and how vocal ability is influenced by wildfire smoke. Randy Boissonnault is among the choir's notable past members.

Performances

The choir regularly puts on concerts in Edmonton during the Christmas season and in April, often with instrumental collaborators. In 2020, at the height of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, they organized a virtual Christmas concert in which the voices of more than 40 choir members were edited together to sing a piece by Franco-Albertan composer France Levasseur-Ouimet, a frequent collaborator of the ensemble. The choir has toured other parts of Canada several times, including a one-month tour in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

in 1949 and a tour of

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

in summer 2024. In 2008, the choir was accompanied by the

Edmonton Symphony Orchestra The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra (ESO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Edmonton, Alberta. As the professional orchestra of Alberta's creative capital city it presents over 85 concerts a year of symphonic music in all genres, from classical to co ...

in a concert at the

Winspear Centre The Francis Winspear Centre for Music is a performing arts centre located in the downtown core of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Opened in 1997, it is the home of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra. The centre is named after Francis G. Winspear, who d ...

celebrating the

400th anniversary of Quebec City Quebec City's 400th anniversary, celebrated in 2008, commemorated the founding of Quebec City in 1608 by Samuel de Champlain. Quebec City is the oldest French people, francophone city in North America. Along with Acadia, the city represents the ...

. This concert was followed shortly by a trip to

Quebec City Quebec City is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Census Metropolitan Area (including surrounding communities) had a populati ...

to take part in the celebrations. There, they sang several pieces by France Levasseur-Ouimet and joined many other choirs in an assembly of 1400 singers that sang at the

Colisée de Québec Colisée de Québec (later known as Colisée Pepsi) is a defunct multi-purpose arena located in Quebec City, Quebec. It was the home of the Quebec Nordiques from 1972 to 1995, during their time in the World Hockey Association and National Hockey ...

. This trip was the subject of a short documentary by Franco-Albertan filmmaker Marie-France Guerrette called ''Le chœur d'une culture'' (''Together in Harmony''—literally "The Choir/Heart of a Culture," punning on the homophony of French '' chœur'' and '' cœur''), which was commissioned by the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

. In 2017, the choir took part in celebrations for the

150th anniversary of Canada The 150th anniversary of Canada, also known as the 150th anniversary of Confederation and promoted by the Government of Canada, Canadian government as Canada 150, occurred in 2017 as Canada marked the sesquicentennial of Canadian Confederati ...

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

External links

References

{{reflist Canadian choirs 1937 establishments in Alberta Franco-Albertan culture