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Maison Symphonique

The Montreal Symphony Orchestra inaugurated the pipe organ at Maison Symphonique, a collaboration between Diamond Schmitt Architects and Casavant Frères.

The 6,489-pipe colossus is a design collaboration between Diamond Schmitt Architects and Quebec-based organ manufacturer Casavant Frères.

This is the architect’s first organ commission. His role was to create the organ facade – the configuration of pipes above the stage that frames the audience’s view of the auditorium. “This is an exuberant organ, built into the room as part of the architecture, not just an insert,” said Jack Diamond. “Too many organs simply look like radiators.”

The 1900-seat concert hall expresses a reverence for sound where overlapping curves of the auditorium’s wood-lined walls shape the musical dimension of the hall. The asymmetrical array of organ pipes is a bold, confident composition that – like the concert hall itself – is a contemporary expression of the fundamental forms of concert hall design.