Christ Church Cathedral

at the Cathedral

The Cathedral has an extensive music ministry, offering recitals and concerts throughout the year.

The Cathedral Music Ministry Calendar provides information about the music offered during the liturgical services and at concerts.

Recorded information about the time of recitals, concerts and other activities may be heard at (514) 843-6577 (ext. 369). For information about bookings, please contact our Concert Manager.

Music making at Christ Church Cathedral has a history all its own.

Here is one story, from the Religious Heritage pages of the Canadian Digital Collection. (It is taken from the booklet "Christ Church Cathedral. A Century in Retrospect", by H. E. MacDermot, 1959 and so does not cover the new organ of 1980, nor the organists since the fifties.)

at the Cathedral

The choirs of the Cathedral offer music each Sunday at the 10 am Choral Eucharist and at Choral Evensong at 4 p.m.

Choral Evensong is broadcast live each Sunday at 4 pm on Radio Ville Marie, FM 91.3 and can be heard in nearly all parts of the Diocese of Montreal. In the Sherbrooke area, tune into FM 100.3.

To listen to Choral Evesong at 4 pm Sundays on the Internet, go to Radio Ville Marie and click on Nous écouter en direct.

The Cathedral has two choirs - a Choir of Men and Trebles (boys and girls) and The Cathedral Singers, a choir of mixed adult voices. New singers are always welcome. How to join the Treble Choir.
Contact Patrick Wedd, Director of Music, for more information.

Two CDs are currently available which feature the musicians of the Cathedral - In Dulci Jubilo, a Christmas CD and Thèmes & Variations, an CD in celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Cathedral's Karl Wilhelm organ.

OutMass; Celebrating our Diversity. A special CD of the OutMass (Hymns, Brief Mass by Dan Locklair, Anthem by Palestrina and Bishop Robinson's Homily) is now available for a modest fee. Please contact the Cathedral Office for more information.

The Cathedral Organ

The 3rd Cathedral organ was installed in 1980, in a new organ loft over the West Door. The mechanical action organ was designed and built by Karl Wilhelm, Inc. of Mont-St-Hilaire, Québec. The organ comprises four manuals divisions played from three keyboards and a pedal division, 42 stops and 63 ranks, with a total of 2,778 pipes. In 1992, a new 32' Bombarde was added to the pedal division. 

The inaugural concert was given by Mireille and Bernard Lagacé on January 24, 1981.

Background and specifications

On the 26, 27 and 28th of January, 2001 the Cathedral celebrated the Organ's 20th birthday with a series of concerts Friday evening, all through the day on Saturday, on Saturday evening and Sunday afternoon. The Anniversary CD Thèmes & Variations, features Cathedral organists Patrick Wedd and Peter Butler.

Recorded information about recitals, concerts and other activities may be heard at (514) 843-6577 (ext. 369). For information about bookings and publicity, contact Cathedral publicity.