WITH A RECORD ASSISTANCE OF 65,000 SPECTATORS OF ALL AGES THE OSM SUMMERTIME ACTIVITIES BROUGHT TOGETHER MORE THAN 140,000 SPECTATORS IN ALL
Sunday August 13, 2017, the concert gathering 200 choristers from the metropolitan area brought the 6th edition of the OSM CLASSICAL SPREE to a conclusion, achieving a record-breaking nearly 90% in-venue capacity! 65,000 people – of all ages, from all backgrounds, music lovers and the curious – got to enjoy the 31 affordably priced concerts as well as free family-oriented activities.
The man behind the Festival, Maestro Kent Nagano, expressed his delight at this 6th edition, where he himself pulled off a true tour de force by conducting no fewer than 10 concerts in four days.
At the kickoff this past Thursday, with the presentation of the Porgy and Bess concert, 30,000 spectators got together on the Esplanade Financière Sun Life at Olympic Park to hear the arias from the well-known Gershwin opera and enjoy themselves in a family setting at the opening of this summertime orchestral event.
A popular celebration of classical and orchestral music, this edition of the SPREE once again bore witness to Montrealers’ cultural dynamism and thirst for discovery, as world-class and next-generation artists met up with festival-goers in a programming that paid tribute to the diversity that reigned at Expo 67’s World Festival of the arts, a ready 50 years ago now.
The Spree presented concerts featuring world music, electro-acoustic music, jazz and classical.
Over 35,000 people were on hand for the weekend to benefit from indoor concerts and free entertainment and activities, as the Classical Spree broadened its sphere of activity this year with more and more things to do for everyone: music awakening workshops, interactive zoo, open-air cinema, young-musician orchestras, etc.
«Seeing all the festival-goers running from one concert to the other, stopping by different workshops, listening to conferences on the spot, and taking advantage of free concerts and cinema by starlight, we can say once again : Mission accomplished. The OSM Classical Spree is well anchered in the heart of Montrealers who responded in great number to the invitation.»
Madeleine Careau, Chef de la direction de l’OSM.
The OSM visited 5 parks throughout summer The OSM’s Classical Spree came after a busy and exceptional summer season that started with a free concert organized by Ville de Montréal and the Maestro himself to provide a moment of respite to the victims of the recent flooding in the borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro.
A series of concerts was next presented outdoors, in accordance with the tradition started by Wilfrid Pelletier: the OSM in the Parks, visiting Brossard, Blainville, the borough of Hochelaga-Maisonneuve-Mercierand Terrebonne in succession. At these concerts, over 55,000 spectators were able to enjoy the Orchestra at no cost.
The OSM then conquered festival-goers by visiting Festival de Lanaudière followed by the Just for Laughs Festival, performing before close to 20,000 spectators. And it’s not over yet, since the Orchestra will be part of the grand Montréal symphonique celebration on August 19!*
The success of this summer season and of the 6th edition confirms the status of the OSM CLASSICAL SPREE as an unmissable event of Montreal’s summertime.
The 7th edition will run from August 16 to 19, 2018.
TILL NEXT YEAR!
