The Orchestre Métropolitain (, OM) is a symphony orchestra in

Montréal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Québec Quebec is Canada's 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, New Brunswick to the southeast and a coastal border ...

, formed in 1981. It performs primarily in the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts but also at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier and Théâtre Maisonneuve. Outside the city centre the OM plays in Saint-Laurent, Outremont, Hochelaga-Maisonneuve,

Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles Rivière-des-Prairies–Pointe-aux-Trembles () is a suburban Boroughs of Montreal, borough (''arrondissement'') on the eastern tip of the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is located at the eastern end of the Island of Montreal. Geography T ...

, Saint-Léonard,

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, Ahuntsic,

Pierrefonds-Roxboro Pierrefonds-Roxboro () is a borough of the city of Montreal. It was created January 1, 2006, following the demerger of parts of the city. Geography It is composed of the former municipalities of Pierrefonds and Roxboro, spanning the northern ...

and

Pointe-Claire Pointe-Claire (, ) is a Quebec local municipality within the Urban agglomeration of Montreal on the Island of Montreal in Canada. It is entirely developed, and land use includes residential, light manufacturing, and retail. As of the 2021 cen ...

History

The roots of the orchestra date to 1980, when the ensemble ''Les Variations'' became the official orchestra for the ''Concerts Lachine'' series. The ensemble consisted of young music graduates from Montreal conservatories. In 1981, ''Les Variations'' changed its name to the ''Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal'', with Robert Savoie as its first chairman (until 1985) and Hun Bang as its first executive director (until 1987). The orchestra's first music director was

Marc Bélanger Marc Bélanger may refer to: *Mark Belanger Mark Henry Belanger (June 8, 1944 – October 6, 1998), nicknamed "the Blade", was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from ...

, from 1981 to 1986. Bélanger also served as artistic director from 1986 to 1987. The orchestra gave occasional concerts for its first few years, and staged its first regular season of concerts in 1985. The orchestra compressed its official name to the ''Orchestre Métropolitain'' in 1986. Also in 1986, the ''Choeur de l'Orchestre Métropolitain'' was formed, with Jacques Faubert as its first director. That same year, Agnès Grossmann became the OM's second music director, and its second artistic director the next year. She held both posts through 1995. During the 1980s and 1990s, the OM made a number of recordings for

Radio-Canada Radio-Canada may refer to: * CBC/Radio-Canada, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation *Ici Radio-Canada Télé, the CBC's main French-language television network *Ici Radio-Canada Première Ici Radio-Canada Première (formerly Première Chaîne) i ...

and Analekta. In 1993, the OM began its free summer concerts in Montreal parks and also performed in the Métro for the first time. Joseph Rescigno became the OM's artistic director in 1995, and held the post through 2000. Yannick Nézet-Séguin took up the post of artistic director in 2000. Nézet-Séguin has conducted the OM in several commercial recordings for the ATMA Classique label, including symphonies of

Anton Bruckner Joseph Anton Bruckner (; ; 4 September 182411 October 1896) was an Austrian composer and organist best known for his Symphonies by Anton Bruckner, symphonies and sacred music, which includes List of masses by Anton Bruckner, Masses, Te Deum (Br ...

and

Gustav Mahler Gustav Mahler (; 7 July 1860 – 18 May 1911) was an Austro-Bohemian Romantic music, Romantic composer, and one of the leading conductors of his generation. As a composer he acted as a bridge between the 19th-century Austro-German tradition and ...

. In April 2013, the OM announced the appointment of Julian Kuerti as its first-ever principal guest conductor, with an initial contract of three years. In 2017, the orchestra made its first European tour, playing in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

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Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

. Two years later, they toured four cities in the

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New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, and

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. Following several contract extensions with Nézet-Séguin, in September 2019, the OM announced its contract with Nézet-Séguin as a lifetime contract. Members of the orchestra performed in '' Days of Happiness (Les Jours heureux)'', a 2023 drama film by Chloé Robichaud about an orchestral conductor.Olivier du Ruisseau
"Clap de fin pour «Les jours heureux»"
''

Le Devoir (, ) is a French-language newspaper published in Montreal and distributed in Quebec and throughout Canada. It was founded by journalist and politician Henri Bourassa in 1910. is one of few independent large-circulation newspapers in Quebec ...

'', July 7, 2022.

Recordings

In January 2005, the OM and Nézet-Séguin received three Opus awards from the ''Conseil québécois de la musique'', two for their recording of Mahler's Symphony No. 4 and one for their concert performance of

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

's '' Wozzeck''. In October 2005, the OM received a Felix Prize from the ADISQ awards for their album of

Kurt Weill Kurt Julian Weill (; ; March 2, 1900April 3, 1950) was a German-born American composer active from the 1920s in his native country, and in his later years in the United States. He was a leading composer for the stage who was best known for hi ...

, in collaboration with Diane Dufresne. In 2010, the OM won an Opus Award for their recording of Bruckner's Symphony No. 9.

Music directors and artistic directors

(1981-1986, Music Director; 1986-1987, Artistic Director) * Agnès Grossmann (1986-1995, Music Director; 1988-1995, Artistic Director) * Joseph Rescigno (1995-2000) * Yannick Nézet-Séguin (2000–"for life")

References

External links

Official OM homepage

Official OM history page

Canadian Encyclopedia page on the Orchestre Métropolitain

Atma record label page on the Orchestre Métropolitain
{{DEFAULTSORT:Orchestre Metropolitain Orchestras in Montreal Musical groups established in 1981 1981 establishments in Quebec