Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal
The Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal has established a reputation as Montreal's
finest early music vocal ensemble. Composed of 10 to 13 singers chosen for the remarkable
clarity and purity of their voices, the Studio was founded in 1974 by organist and
harpsichordist Christopher Jackson.
Delighting audiences for close to four decades, the Studio has brought more than 800
Renaissance and Baroque masterpieces before the public, and continues to reveal and share
the vitality, sensuality, and emotional depth of early music. The ensemble's concert series
has been a highlight of Montreal's cultural life for 35 years and ranks as an integral part
of the city's lively Baroque scene.
Flowering from Montreal's early music scene in the early 1970s, the Studio was a pioneer
ensemble in the North American period music movement. The Studio's members boast impeccable
pedigree and collaborate with some of the world's finest period music instrument
specialists.
The Studio has toured Mexico, France, Spain, and Luxembourg, and has often appeared at the
Festival International de Musique in Sarrebourg. Through frequent concert collaborations
with many well-known early music instrumental ensembles-including Skip Sempé's Capriccio
Stravagante Renaissance Orchestra-the Studio has partnered with many renowned artists, such
as Jordi Savall, Ton Koopman, Dame Emma Kirkby, Guillemette Laurens, Suzie LeBlanc, and
Daniel Taylor.
The Studio has made 15 widely acclaimed recordings, several of which are on the ATMA
Classique label, including Arvo Pärt: Stabat Mater and Rise, O
my soul. The Studio's recording Heavenly Spheres on CBC Records won
ADISQ's Félix Award, and its Palestrina recording won the CHOC du Monde de la Musique. In
January 2012, the Conseil québécois de la musique awarded an Opus Prize to the Studio's
Lagrime di San Pietro recording.
Christopher Jackson
Organist, harpsichordist, conductor, artistic director, teacher, mentor, Renaissance
man-Christopher Jackson's accomplishments are so numerous that it is difficult to choose a
single word to describe him and the impact of his work.
A pioneer of Montreal's fertile early music scene, Mr. Jackson was among the first to
present period music to audiences in the early 1970s. He founded the world-renowned Studio
de musique ancienne de Montréal in 1974, hitting a nerve with music lovers in that city.
His reputation extends well beyond national borders; Mr. Jackson has been invited to
conduct several prestigious ensembles in France, Belgium, and Spain. In 1998, he led a tour
of Monteverdi's Orfeo across France.
A leader in the academic world, Mr. Jackson was appointed dean of Concordia University's
Faculty of Fine Arts in 1994, a post he retired in 2005. He was also granted an honorary
doctorate by Laurentian University (Sudbury, Ontario) in 1999 in recognition of his
contribution to the world of music. Ever the pioneer, Mr. Jackson was one of the key minds
behind an unprecedented partnership between Concordia's Engineering and Fine Arts
departments. The result is the state-of-the-art Integrated Engineering, Computer Science,
and Visual Arts Complex, which opened in downtown Montreal in 2005.
He has recently become the director of Concordia's Grey Nuns Project, a long-term
initiative that will transform a heritage building-the Mother House of the Grey Nuns
Order-into a gathering place for Concordia's artistic community. When completed, the
project will have created the first totally integrated arts school in North America.
For all his entrepreneurial initiative in the academic world, Mr. Jackson never strays far
from his musical career and continues to create unique, beautiful concert programs and
recordings with Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal. Mr. Jackson's role as ancient music
detective is one that he has assumed for years, searching libraries and working with music
historians and musicologists to revive previously unknown or unedited works.