Originally founded in 1991 as a women's choir, Chœur Maha is an intergenerational musical through-line and choral community that aims to represent and welcome women, non-binary and trans singers in Montreal, Quebec. Maha fans have reveled in the choir’s non-traditional take on choral music for over three decades; its lively performances reflect the delight and complicity that the members of its close-knit community share. Audiences can expect to hear works ranging from Balkan folk to experimental jazz to medieval Latin to French pop, and singers can expect to grow and diversify their musical palates and experience. 

 

Maha's recent musical highlights include:

  • a performance of Robert Davidson's Not Now, Not Ever!, a musical rendition of former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard’s incendiary speech in response to the misogyny she experienced from her fellow members of Parliament;

  • in December 2022, performing Nancy Telfer’s Missa Brevis, a compelling work of sacred music in its own right that also allows Maha to showcase the work of this Canadian woman composer;

  • singing in The Sapphic Passion, a queer reimagining of the passion oratorio format using fragments of the works of Sappho, original poetry by Maria Gajraj and original compositions from Esther-Ruth Teel, Sarah Rossy, Morgan-Paige Melbourne, Leo Purich, Kim Ferris-Manning and Anna Berg. 

 

We’ve also had the pleasure of collaborating with many independent artists and composers, including Allison Burik, Stefani Bondari, Ayelet Gottlieb, Meghan Riley, Dina Cindriç, Allie Weigh and Kathy Kennedy, who co-founded the choir with visual artist Su Schnee. 

 

A member-run adult choir, Maha is governed by a seven-person council elected by the members once a year at the Annual General Meeting in early September. Our current Artistic Director, Sarah Rossy, has been with the choir since September 2021. Chœur Maha is a non-profit charitable organization with the dual mission of promoting women's and gender-expansive choral music and providing musical outreach and education to the broader Montréal community through its performances and collaborations.

 

  • Member fees are $200 a year, although partial or full scholarships are available. Maha accepts donations from choristers and supporters to help offset its costs and ensure that financial means are never a barrier to participation in the choir. 

  • Please note that while reading music is not mandatory, prospective members’ musical skill will be measured in a short audition.

  • Rehearsals take place in the Plateau from 7-9:30 p.m. every Tuesday evening from early September to early December, and from early January to early May. In addition to occasional social gatherings outside of rehearsals, members often go to a nearby bar after rehearsal.

  • In addition to our December and May shows, the choir often performs at community and choral events, including Oasis Musicale, Confabulation, Porchfest, the NDG Winter Magic Parade and fundraisers for women’s shelters, among others.

  • We have a weekend retreat outside of Montreal in the first two months of each term, and an intensive rehearsal the Saturday or Sunday before each show. 

 

Chœur Maha rehearses and sings on the island known as Tiohtià:ke in the Kanien'kéha language and Mooniyang in Anishinaabemowin, a traditional gathering place for many Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples over the centuries. The Kanien’kéha people are recognized as the caretakers of this unceded Indigenous land and waters. We pay respect to the past, present and emerging music traditions of the Kanien’keha people. Acknowledging this history and the colonialism from which we as settlers continue to benefit is merely a first step in the decolonization process. As Western classical music practices have historically been used as a tool of colonial oppression by exoticizing, exploiting, and erasing Indigenous culture, art, and music, it is important for our choir to select our repertoire responsibly and to challenge the (still predominantly white, male, and privileged) status quo within the Western choral music tradition. 

We encourage all settler members of music communities across Montréal and Canada to continue learning and reflecting on the role that music can play in decolonization processes.

Need more resources? You can start here: https://music.library.utoronto.ca/blog/resources-decolonialization

 

Want to learn more about Maha? Check out our Vimeo and YouTube pages to see past performances, or, for a blast from the past, watch the feature-length 1998 documentary Choir Girls, made by Patricia Kearns and Deborah VanSlet. Can you guess how many members are still singing with Maha nearly 20 years later? You can also consult our FAQ page or write to us for any questions. 

 

SARAH ROSSY

Performer, composer, producer, and educator Sarah Rossy (she/they) is a Lebanese-Canadian multidisciplinary artist based in Tio'tia:ke/Montréal. Sarah combines influences of jazz, live-processed electronics, and visual projections into autobiographical, ethereal, and socially-outspoken soundscapes for a truly unique result. Having performed hundreds of live shows of both original and collaborative music in under a decade, Sarah Rossy is an ever-expanding curious artist.

In 2019, Sarah began an ancestral research journey with the Arrivals Legacy Project. This meaningful work is now an active part of Sarah's creative process.

Sarah's long list of collaborations includes: Meredith Monk, Thanya Iyer, No Cosmos, John Hollenbeck, and many more. In 2021, Sarah was appointed Artistic Director of Chœur Maha, a feminist community choir, and accepted a position as a Professor of Music at Dawson College. The interdisciplinary nature of Sarah's artistic practice now includes education as a tool for social justice, empowerment, and transformation.

Active/recent projects include: WASH, an interdisciplinary solo show exploring resonant themes of immigration, cultural assimilation and Arab erasure; GEORGE, an experimental jazz band led by drummer/composer John Hollenbeck; Indra's Net, an interdisciplinary work by Meredith Monk in New York City; as well as Sarah's self-led band and solo works. A much-anticipated debut album entitled LUCID is set to be unveiled in 2025.

Compositionally, Sarah explores experiential processes which traverse through a feminist lens and nurture the ecosystems of artistic community, unifying her passions for social justice, representation, and unity. Sarah Rossy's work is a unique and compelling representation of art, culture, and the human experience.

 

Links:

www.sarahrossy.com

https://sarahrossy.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sarahrossysings

Instagram: @ara_ossy