Canadian Vocal Arts Institute

About ICAV

A Montreal institution dedicated to training the next generation of opera singers and presenting the art of vocal music — since 2001.

Our Mission

Tomorrow's great voices. Discover them on stage.

The Canadian Institute of Vocal Art accompanies, every summer, a cohort of young lyric artists. Singers, conductors, stage directors and collaborative pianists work for six weeks alongside mentors who are active on the world's great international stages.

Our conviction is simple: training is passed on through practice, and practice finds its meaning before an audience. This is why the Academy and the Lyric Concerts are inseparable — one nourishes the other, the other reveals the one.

These artists whom you will soon see on the great stages of the world, you hear them first here, in Montreal — often for the very first time.

The Academy

Six weeks of total immersion: personalized mentorship, master classes, stage and language coaching. From recital to grand opera, every work is shaped in the studio and then brought to the stage.

Training · July–August
Discover the Academy

Les Concerts Lyriques

Fifteen public performances in Montreal — recitals, French art song, opera gala. Our young artists share the stage with their mentors, before a discerning audience.

Presentation · summer season
View Les Concerts Lyriques
Our History

Twenty-five seasons, one unwavering standard

Founded in 2001 by a circle of Quebec educators and artists, ICAV took root in one conviction: that Canada deserved an international-calibre summer vocal arts academy, open to the public.

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Singers on stage to the right of an orchestra
ICAV singers with orchestra.
Our Team

A permanent team at the heart of the project.

Six people lead the institution year-round. Each summer, they welcome the mentors, the participants, and the public — and coordinate the four weeks that make up our season.

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Photo of Marc-Antoine d'Aragon

Executive Director

Marc-Antoine d'Aragon

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Nathalie Deschamps

Artistic Coordinator

Nathalie Deschamps

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Justine Fournier

Assistant to the Director

Justine Fournier

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Kevin Whitty

Production

Kevin Whitty

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William Brenner

Communications

William Brenner

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Chloé Morissette

Education

Cloée Morissette

Governance

Board of Directors

Margot Provencher

Vice-chair

Daniel Turp

Secretary

Directors
  • Sharon Azrieli
  • Michel Brutti
  • Sue Carol Isaacson
  • David B. Sela
Partners and Sponsors

Support ICAV. Support a voice.

Each season exists thanks to the commitment of our public partners, our private patrons, and the cultural institutions that host us. We thank them warmly.

Donors

$125 000 and more

$50 000 and more

$25 000 and more

$10 000 and more

$5 000 and more

$2 500 and more

  • Bill Lassner
  • Bullwealth
  • Fondation Pierre Desmarais Belvedere
  • George Stedman
  • Jane Skoryna
  • Sue Carol Isaacson

Partners

Become a Partner

Put your name behind the next generation of Canadian lyric singers.

Are you representing an organization or foundation that wishes to align its name with the next generation of Canadian lyric artists? We would love to discuss the possibilities.

Become a partner