An ominous sound of silence has mercifully been lifted. The MusiArt choir, slated to perform its final concert March 19, now has a new lease on life.

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The Montreal General Hospital Foundation has reached an agreement with Les Impatients, a long-standing community organization dedicated to supporting people living with mental challenges through artistic expression. Under the terms of the deal, the MusiArt choir will be under the auspices of Les Impatients as of April and members will move to the group’s facilities on St-Denis St.

Brownstein: Montreal General Hospital choir is saved, and its members' 'shroud of stress' is lifted Back to video

Plus, Julie Migner-Laurin, who had been slated to lose her job as choir co-director, will be taken on by Les Impatients to continue her work with the group one day a week. Dany Bouchard won’t be moving to Les Impatients, as he will keep his job as MGH psychiatry department music therapist. As a result, he will no longer be serving as choir co-director.

On Jan. 20, MusiArt members were told that due to a shortfall in MGH Foundation donations, which had been subsidizing the group, the choir would have to cease operations.

A huge outpouring of public sympathy ensued, all the more so since it cost the paltry amount of $40,000 a year to keep the choir and the services of Migner-Laurin going.

At a rehearsal in late January, MusiArt members recounted how devastated they were to learn the news. They credited their involvement in the choir for helping them deal with everything from borderline personality and bipolar disorders to crushing depression, panic attacks and suicidal ideation. It was heartbreaking listening to their stories as they rehearsed for what was to be one of the last times before their farewell March 19 concert at the Allan Memorial Institute.

The MusiArt choir is a music-therapy group consisting of about 25 singers and musicians. It was first formed in 1998 to support psychiatric patients at the Montreal General Hospital. Some members have professional experience, but most are simply eager amateurs. They have become a community unto themselves. Music is their lifeblood. Music has kept them afloat in otherwise troubling times.

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Over nearly three decades, the bilingual choir has distinguished itself — it has cut three albums of original compositions and toured throughout the country and beyond.

“This is no Band-Aid solution,” said MGH Foundation president and CEO Brian Thompson, announcing the new agreement in a phone interview. “This will ensure the survival of the choir for the foreseeable future. This is a story of collaborating for positive impact.”

Thompson acknowledged that the MGH Foundation was “very much moved” by the public’s reaction to the cessation of the choir’s activities. He also noted that reaction resulted in an upsurge in donations to the foundation.

“We are grateful to the generous donors who stepped forward and are proud to see MusiArt continue to grow in a setting dedicated to arts and mental health with Les Impatients,” Thompson added. “The foundation will not only be involved in the choir’s initial transition to Les Impatients, but also in sustaining it in the future.”

Upon learning of the plight of the MusiArt choir, the team at Les Impatients was quick to step in.

“Les Impatients are delighted and very much looking forward to welcoming the MusiArt choir into their new facilities,” said Frédéric Palardy, executive director of Les Impatients. “Our two initiatives are nearly the same age, both spanning close to three decades. While much has changed over time, one constant remains: the clear and lasting benefits of artistic expression, particularly music and singing, for people living with mental health challenges.”

Equally delighted is Dr. Richard Montoro, chair of the department of psychiatry and medical co-director of the Mental Health Mission at the McGill University Health Centre, which includes the Montreal General.

“I am so grateful that the donors are supporting the integration of MusiArt into the community, where they will continue to be ambassadors of the life-changing benefits of arts-based therapies,” Montoro said.

Migner-Laurin, a psychologist specializing in music therapy, is particularly relieved that MusiArt will live.

“It was so crushing for the choir members and staff knowing that this could all end, so I’m obviously thrilled and grateful that MusiArt — and also the women’s choral group, the Women’s Music Therapy Circle, that we have at the Allan Memorial — will now continue. But there are other cuts that will still be maintained,” she said in a phone interview, noting that those cuts, also involving her workload, will take place at the Allan.

“But overall, what’s really encouraging is that the general form of MusiArt will be maintained, with the concerts, tours, collaborations and recordings all to be carried forward. The sad part there for us is that Dany, who has been with the choir longer than me, won’t be with us at Les Impatients. We will all be grieving that fact, but we will remember all he has given to the choir.”

Few have fought more for the MusiArt choir than John Jordan. And few have benefited more from the experience than Jordan. Prior to learning about this new deal, he had been trying to organize a benefit concert for MusiArt.

Jordan, a force on the city’s indie music scene for over 30 years, is much acclaimed for his sax playing, singing, writing and producing with such groups as Me Mom and Morgentaler, the Kingpins, Osmosis Unlimited and the Planet Smashers. He is also the author of the book Maybe the Problem Is You: Tales and Songs of a Bipolar High Roller.

In addition to other commitments, he’s been with MusiArt since 2019 and is totally upfront about what brought him there.

“I had a manic episode in August 2019. I have bipolar disorder. I had met Dany (Bouchard) a few times, going way back to when I had been hospitalized at the Allan Memorial when they were taking in patients,” Jordan told me in January.

“The choir is very important for me. I, like many people with mental health issues, have a tendency to isolate. My own band stopped performing regularly in 2020. Since then, MusiArt has really been my main source of collaborative musical expression. … It’s been a blessing.”

Jordan was much comforted after learning of the reprieve. “This is definitely a big win for us, that the choir will continue with Julie, as will the Women’s Music Therapy Circle,” he said in a phone interview.

“It’s a solution, but I also have mixed emotions. There is a larger issue of abdicating the responsibility of outpatient treatment to the private sector, which should be covered by the public sector with the taxes we pay.”

In January, Jordan and other choir members pointed out that government cuts had led the Montreal General to end the addictions program and the Recovery Transition Program last year. They rightfully feared about the future sustainability of other mental-health outpatient activities.

“At first with the news of the end of the choir, I found what was happening was the reverse of trickle-down economics,” Jordan said. “You start with the government cutting something like $1.5 billion from the health budget. Then it comes down to the MUHC that has to cut its budget. Then it comes down to the psychiatry department that has to cut its budget. Then the foundation has to cut its budget.

“But, fortunately, this has turned out to be a win and hopefully the tide will turn and there will be more wins,” he said. “I have a lot of gratitude. Choir members will certainly be ecstatic knowing that MusiArt lives. And, guaranteed, our next rehearsal coming Tuesday will be so much lighter than it was last month. That shroud of stress hanging over all of us should disappear.”

The MusiArt choir presents its no-longer-final concerts March 17 at noon at the Cedar Ave. entrance of the Montreal General Hospital and March 19 at 11 a.m. in the presentation room of the Allan Memorial Institute, 1025 des Pins Ave. Admission is free.

bbrownstein@postmedia.com

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