Oktoecho Unveils Exciting Lineup of Creations and Performances for the Upcoming Season

For its upcoming season, the musical ensemble Oktoecho will take part in a multitude of major Quebecois cultural events: Lanaudière Festival, OSM's Classical Spree, Montreal Arts Council on Tour, Montreal Trad Festival, Sherbrooke World Traditions Festival, Indigenous Presence, and more.

"We are very excited to meet people from all over Quebec to share our various projects, whether it be our three concerts, our workshop or our new video," emphasize the artistic co-directors Katia Makdissi-Warren and Lydia Etok.

Montreal Tour

The season will begin on Friday, July 28, at the 40th edition of the event Le CAM on Tour. Organized by the Montreal Arts Council (CAM), this annual gathering democratizes art and promotes quality works in the neighborhoods of Montreal. Oktoecho will present Transcestral at the Verdure Theatre in Lafontaine Park.

A hymn to life, Transcestral expresses the common perpetual quest for harmony between man and nature, inspired by the music and sacred dances of Sufi and local Indigenous traditions. About twenty singers, musicians, and dancers from various backgrounds including six Indigenous and Sufi communities, as well as jazz, classical, and contemporary musicians, will be represented.

During this tour, exceptional soloists will perform: Nina Segalowitz, Moe Clark, Anouar Berrada, Buffalo Hat Singers, Linda Thali, Kathia Rock. And solid dancers: Barbara Diabo Tanya Evanson, Adam Barrada, Ivanie Aubin, Thomasina Nina Philips.

As part of the CAM on tour, Transcestral will also be offered on:

1. Wednesday, August 2 at Goncourt Park (7130 Goncourt);
2. Friday, September 29 at Cégep de Saint-Laurent (613 Sainte-Croix);
3. Wednesday, November 15 at the Verdun Cultural Center (5160 LaSalle);
4. Saturday, November 25 at the Mercier Cultural Center (8105 Hochelaga);
5. Thursday, February 22, 2024, at the Claude-Léveillée Cultural Center (911 Jean-Talon Est).

At the start of the school year, on Sunday, September 3, Oktoecho will present a Moroccan percussion duo, with Mohamed Raky and Bertil Schulrabe, in the setting of Ahuntsic Park during the Montreal Trad Festival.

The Splendors of Throat Singing

On Sunday, July 30, at the open house day of the Lanaudière Festival, Oktoecho will organize, in collaboration with the Société de musique contemporaine du Québec, the workshop "Les Grands Espaces" at the Fernand-Lindsay Amphitheatre in Joliette. This fun and participatory activity will have both enthusiasts and curious visitors singing, while exploring the work "Les Grands Espaces," written by Katia Makdissi-Warren.

Participants will discover katajjaq, a traditional Inuit vocal game, and then gradually learn the elements of the work: sounds of wind, rain, goose cries, owl hoots. This fantastic journey through distant lands of ice and wind will provide an experience of an innovative choral form in homage to Inuit culture. Famous throat singers Nina and Sierra Segalowitz will guide the crowd in a relaxed atmosphere, for an unforgettable adventure. This workshop has already won over more than 45,000 young people in Quebec, Canada, and France.

Artistic Video Clip; An Animation Work

Oktoecho will premier its video "Inter-Nation-All," with music composed by Nakoda artist Anders Hunter and Katia Makdissi-Warren. The premier will be presented in the cinema section of the International Indigenous Presence Festival on 11 August at 6pm, at the Cinema du Musée (1379-A Sherbrooke O, Montreal). With the help of pow-wow dancer and choreographer Barbara Diabo and lead dancer Marshall Kahente Diabo, directors Camille Poirier and Nicolás Aguirre have concocted a poetic animated collage: an invitation to transcend the boundaries between Self and Other.

On Wednesday, August 9, at the Sherbrooke World Traditions Festival, Oktoecho will perform "Saimaniq" (an Inuktitut term meaning "peace"). Built around katajjaq, this original creation, which evokes desert spaces, will transport the audience into a feeling of freedom and infinite space.

Polyrhythms from Emirati deserts, Japanese and Scandinavian flutes, and electronic music will be added to the throat singing to revisit and pay tribute to the beauty and richness of Inuit art. This is an enriching journey with composer Katia Makdissi-Warren, talented singers Lydia Etok, Nina Segalowitz and Hélène Martel, and experienced musicians.

A Classical Musical Journey Around a String Orchestra

This summer, Oktoecho will have a prominent place in the Montreal Symphony Orchestra's Classical Spree. Thus, on Friday, August 18, it will present the concert "Mémoires du monde" at the Maisonneuve Theatre. This unique show will be enhanced by the presence of a string orchestra playing compositions written specifically for the occasion.

From the Middle East to the Far North, the ensemble will introduce a fascinating universe in which many musical traditions echo today's sounds. The soloists: Didem Basar (kanun), from Turky Binnaz Celik (kemence), Nina Segalowitz and Lydia Etok (Inuit throat singing), Katia Makdissi-Warren (conductor).

Then, on Saturday, August 19, Katia Makdissi-Warren will give a fascinating lecture on traditional and classical music at the OSM Space at the Place des Arts. On Sunday, August 20, Oktoecho will conclude its participation with the "Les Grands Espaces" workshop on the outdoor stage, located on Sainte-Catherine at the corner of Saint-Urbain.

For all program information: oktoecho.com

About Oktoecho

Founded in 2001 and in residence at the Maison de la Culture Ahuntsic since 2010, Oktoecho ensemble, promotes the creation and performance of mixed music by local composers as a producer of concerts, events, recordings and tours. In addition, the group offers specialized teaching of various musics (Middle Eastern, Indigenous, Jewish) to professional musicians and composers.

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