Michel Guimont will be the Music Director of the choir, beginning next season (September 2010). After graduating from Concordia University with a degree in Psychology in 1981, Michel continued his education with a Bachelor’s degree in Music and then a Master's degree in Music (Composition), both from the University of Montreal. He has also taken courses in Choral and Orchestral Conducting at Westminster Choir School, Princeton, New Jersey. He took voice training with Jan Simons at McGill University and was, for several years in the 1990s, a private student of Wayne Riddell in choral conducting and vocal technique. He is fully bilingual in English and French and can also speak Spanish, German and Italian. Michel is also an accomplished composer having published two complete Psalm Collections (GIA Publications Inc.) and other sacred works which are used across Canada, the USA, and elsewhere.

Mr. Guimont has been Director of Music at St. John de Brébeuf Parish (1975-87) and was later Director of Music and Organist at St. Augustine of Canterbury (1987-91), both in Montreal. Since 1991, he has been the Director of Music at Notre-Dame Basilica in Ottawa ,where he has developed the music program there from a single choir to the present five choirs and heads a music program which is considered to have one of the best Cathedral choirs in Canada. He has taken his choirs on performance tours to Italy, Spain and, this August, will take them to Poland.

Michel’s wealth of musical experience and training and his passion for music will enable him take our choir to new levels of performance, and he is enthusiastic about working with the choir on a variety of secular and sacred repertoire in the future. We look forward to working with him.