Beluga songs, poems and symphonies: these are the ingredients to build a concert for the benefit of the Earth. With music as a tool for social change, maestro Nicolas Ellis and his Agora Orchestra pay tribute to the beauty of the Quebec territory during the Gala de la Terre this Wednesday.
“It’s a celebration of the environment and the Quebec territory, and a fundraiser for environmental organizations that have a concrete impact on our territory,” explains Nicolas Ellis, founder and conductor of the Agora Orchestra, which will present the third edition of the Earth Gala at the Maison symphonique this Wednesday. More than 100 musicians, 75 choristers, soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais and poet Natasha Kanapé Fontaine will be gathered there.
The Agora Orchestra is more than a professional project for Nicolas Ellis, who founded the ensemble when he was a university student. The chef explains that Agora’s DNA is made up of a desire to “change our community”.
“The Agora is a place where everything meets,” underlines Nicolas Ellis. This enthusiasm is displayed as soon as he steps on his podium. “I can’t wait,” he says to the anthill of musicians in front of him during the general, allowing himself a few laughs with the orchestra.
From the first notes of the Alpine Symphony, the conductor’s gestures are high and pronounced. His heels lift off the ground, as if he is approaching flight. Even from behind, expressiveness runs through his body.
“It’s one of the must-sees you have to do in your life,” assures Nicolas Ellis about this Straussian work that will close the concert. Depicting the stages of an expedition in the Alps, the symphony evokes the beauty of nature, amplified by the blue and green lighting that envelops the Maison symphonique.
The young maestro draws a parallel between the work of Richard Strauss and that of Claudie Bertounesque, who fuses beluga songs collected in the St. Lawrence River and electroacoustic sounds. “In the style of Strauss, his piece recounts […] the boat trip that we experienced,” he explains.
As part of the Earth Gala, all ticket revenues will be donated to three environmental organizations, namely the Group for Research and Education on Marine Mammals (GREMM), WWF Canada and the Sierra Club Canada. The latest editions raised $393,000 in donations, in addition to winning the Opus Prize for musical event of the year in 2022.
The musical program for this edition was designed with the aim of ensuring that the public could identify with the themes covered. “How do we talk about the environment, about Quebec, here? “, asked the chef. With the Agora, Nicolas Ellis gives himself permission to “rethink the concert formula or the range of collaborations and repertoire”.
If the Gala de la Terre programming focuses on environmental themes, it is also particularly anchored in Quebec reality. Bringing together local artists, the concert highlights the Innu voices of Elisabeth St-Gelais (who will sing Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder) and Natasha Kanapé Fontaine (who will recite original poems), whose Mr. Ellis notes the importance, especially in such a “collective celebration of where we live.”
For Natasha Kanapé Fontaine, her role as ambassador within the Gala de la Terre is a continuation of her activist past in environmental struggles. “Our communities are directly affected by climate change and all kinds of natural resource exploitation. Among the Innu, our culture was directly fragmented by hydroelectric dams,” she explains.
According to the poet, the arts allow us to “bring another consciousness” regarding environmental issues. Poetry and music would be ways to rediscover the emotional side of the climate crisis. “Instruments can help us feel the vibrations of the territory. In Claudie Bertounesque’s play, she went to the Côte-Nord, and I really feel like I’m going back home. That’s the power of music.”
