La Semaine du Neuf is back for a 3rd edition

La semaine du Neuf

Le Vivier, Montreal's hub for new music, announces the third edition of its festival La Semaine du Neuf, to be presented from March 8 to 16, 2025 at several venues, including the Wilder Building, CIRMMT and Chapelle Scènes contemporaines.

La Semaine du Neuf presents a panorama of new horizons in new music, with an eclectic and festive program that ventures from acousmatic music to contemporary opera, via unbridled sound experimentation.

Focusing on creation, the Vivier festival celebrates the diversity of creative processes, with concerts, multidisciplinary performances and sound installations.

Reflection, technology and poetry

Several propositions invite meditation and reflection. One of the highlights is Speaker Baptism, by the Sawtooth duo (Sarah Albu and Matti Pulkki) and composer/performer Charles Quevillon. This techno-opera questions our relationship with technology, through a hybrid performance combining music, performance, and video. Other festival highlights: collectif9 and Architek Percussion reflect poetically on identity and belonging, with author and performer Kaie Kellough in My Backyard, Somewhere. The Quasar Saxophone Quartet take a sensitive look at the major issues facing our world in Tout ce qui m'épouvante. Laboratoire lyrik de Chants Libres is a research-creation project involving voice, dance and cello, in which artists explore notions of absence and presence. 

Famous names in contemporary music

Once again this year, La Semaine du Neuf welcomes a number of renowned artists. The New York-based TAK Ensemble, one of the most important experimental music collectives in the U.S., presents Star Maker Fragments, a mixed electroacoustic and acoustic work by Taylor Brook, inspired by a science-fiction novel. Quatuor Bozzini celebrates its 25th anniversary with a program that brings together compositions by Michael Oesterle, Linda Catlin Smith and Martin Arnold. The concert Two guitars, Two generations highlights two virtuoso guitarists, Matthew Warren Ruth and Tim Brady. Finally, there's a unique collaboration between the Paramirabo ensemble and a trio from Musikfabrik, Germany's leading contemporary music ensemble.

Sound experimentations

The festival offers artists complete freedom to explore new sonic territories. Did you say acousmatic music? is a journey into the world of immersive acousmatic music and real-time spatialization, with works by Julien Guillamat and Annette Vande Gorne, created in the multiphonic studios of Musiques & Recherches in Belgium. Presented with Akousma, the concert Architectures sonores immatérielles et autres invisibilités résonantes, presents acousmatic, mixed and live pieces curated by Martin Bédard, with the participation of Marie-Hélène Breault.

Listen to the unexpected

For over 15 years, Le Vivier has been dedicated to new music. A non-profit organization with over 70 members, Le Vivier is dedicated to disseminating new music and supporting emerging artists through its programming, Pôle relève, musical mediation workshops and youth activities. Le Vivier is committed to making new music accessible to all audiences, thanks to its solidarity-based pricing and affordable packages.