Choeur Maha was founded in 1991 by composer/performer Kathy Kennedy and visual artist Su Schnee. The choir has delighted audiences for two decades with their creative repertoire, singing in as many languages and styles as possible, from Hildegard von Bingen to Hildegard Westerkamp; from Mozart to Madonna and incorporating a healthy dose of electroacoustic music for good measure.
Choeur Maha is well known for its support of women’s organizations throughout Montreal. They perform annually in memory of the Ecole Polytechnique Anniversary as well as International Women's Day, and have occasionally performed in benefit concerts for local women’s shelters and support groups. In 2011 Maha attained charitable status and is raising money for their own concert and recording expenses. You can donate at our concerts or via PayPal.
Maha has produced some of the city’s most memorable musical interventions and guerrilla performances incorporating technology and social commentary. From the large scale sonic installation Never/Always performed outdoors at Place des Arts with over 100 participants to the more intimate surprise performance in the corridors at City Hall, Maha continually turns heads.
Maha’s musical collaborators range from jazz diva Karen Young to electroacoustic composer Hildegard Westerkamp. They launched their first CD Different Angels in 1996 and were the subjects of Patricia Kearns and Deborah VanSlet’s 1998 documentary feature film, CHOIR GIRLS.
Their name is always associated with innovative feminist music, high energy performances and a decidedly non-traditional take on choral music. Over the years, many singers have passed through the portals of Choeur Maha, and moved on to successful careers as artists and teachers. The choir has been a pillar of support for women’s choral music in Montreal, helping the public understand and appreciate choral music and the different arts tied to musical performance.
- Weekly rehearsals take place every Tuesday from September through May, from 6:45 PM until 9:30 PM, at Galerie Oboro (4001 Berri), in the Plateau.
- We often go for a drink afterwards at a local bar to spend more time together.
- We aim to have two weekend intensive retreats, one in autumn and the other in the winter—usually one hour outside of Montreal.
- We produce two main concerts per year:
- An event in December which may involve collaborating acts
- Our final concert with 2-3 showtimes at the beginning of May.
- The annual fee is $200 to be a member of Choeur Maha. This amount finances our functioning, and the salary of our director. Choeur Maha is a charitable organization which can give receipts for donations as well.
- Choeur Maha has a long tradition of participating in community, artistic and activist events throughout the year. These smaller optional events allow us to participate in important celebrations and protests, occasionally make some money, to widen our audience and increase our visibility, and, as always, have the pleasure of singing together even more often
Sarah Rossy (Artistic Director)
SARAH ROSSY IS A MYTHICAL SONIC CREATURE OF SORTS, WITH A VOICE THAT IS COLOURFULLY CHAMELEONIC YET VULNERABLY HUMAN. Bouncing between Tio’tia:ke (Montréal), New York City, and Berlin, Sarah combines influences of jazz, experimental music, and interdisciplinary movement practices for a truly unique result. Sarah is a composer with a keen interest in experiential processes which traverse through a feminist lens and nurture the ecosystems of artistic community. Recent excursions include: studying with Meredith Monk, voice/movement research at The World is Sound (Berlin), exploring ethnic heritage at the Arabic Music Retreat, attending multiple residencies at Banff Centre for the Arts, and pursuing ancestral research with Diasporakidz Artist Collective in Diane Roberts'Arrivals Legacy Project. Sarah is a recent (and first Canadian) finalist of the Ella Fitzgerald International Voice Competition, and holds both a B.Mus and M.Mus from McGill University.
Recent/upcoming works:
-Untitled (2022, augmented reality exhibit combining jazz with digital media);
-Woven (2021, interdisciplinary film exploring ancestry, domestic violence, and intergenerational trauma);
-Recollections (2019, interdisciplinary production exploring intersectional gender identity);
-The Conclusion (2019, album).
Links:
https://sarahrossy.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/sarahrossysings
Instagram: @ara_ossy