The Beatles – Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr and John Lennon – were brought to life by members of the Beatles tribute band Classical Mystery Tour, accompanied by the FILMharmonic Orchestra at the Palais Montcalm. (Photo by Shirley Nadeau)

The Orchestre symphonique de Québec (OSQ), directed by Clemens Schuldt (centre), launched the 2024-2025 season with a gala concert at the Grand Théâtre on Sept. 18. The program opened with Antonín Dvořák’s delightful Carnival overture. A grand piano was then rolled onstage for award-winning Canadian pianist Bruce Liu who, accompanied by the orchestra, performed Sergei Prokofiev’s devilishly difficult Piano Concerto No. 3. After a brief intermission, the orchestra launched into Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 6, also known as La Pathétique. Originally entitled The Passionate Symphony, employing the Russian word “pateticheskaya,” meaning “passionate” or “emotional,” it was later translated into French as “pathétique,” meaning “solemn” or “emotive.” Following this, Schuldt and Liu gave a surprise mini-concert in the theatre lobby, playing a four-handed piano composition. Schuldt, with a clarinetist and violinist of the OSQ, then performed The Klezmer’s Wedding by Srul Irving Glick. (SN) (Photo by Shirley Nadeau)

Les Violons du Roy musicians Katya Poplyansky, Noëlla Bouchard, Pascale Gagnon and Pascale Giguère were the featured violin soloists during the chamber orchestra’s performance of Antonio Vivaldi’s Les Quatre Saisons at the Palais Montcalm on Sept. 19. Director Jonathan Cohen (right) applauds them along with the audience. Each violinist was featured in one of the four movements – “Printemps,” “Été,” “Automne” and “Hiver.” (Photo by Shirley Nadeau)

Singer Patsy Gallant celebrated her 70-year career with a gala concert at the Salle Albert- Rousseau on Sept. 20. She first performed with three of her older sisters as a five-year-old in Campbellton, N.B., and went on to fame and fortune in the role of Stella Spotlight in Starmania in Paris for eight consecutive years. Gallant has had a varied career as a singer, television and stage actor recording 16 albums and many singles and winning 10 Juno Awards. She is the recipient of the Governor General’s Medal (1992) and the Order of Canada (2018), and most recently was named Chevalière de l’Ordre National du Québec (2023). In 2020, she published her autobiography, Ma vie en technicolor. (SN) (Photo by Shirley Nadeau)

The Sugar Darlings performed at the first edition of Montcalm Blues on Avenue Cartier on Sept. 21. (CK) (Photo by Cassandra Kerwin)