Montreal’s MusiArt choir to live to sing another day

Montreal’s MusiArt choir, which provides music therapy for mental health patients, will live to sing another day after funding cuts threatened to shut it down.

In January, the McGill University Health Centre (MUHC) said the choir would cease due to a lack of philanthropic funds.

The choir, run out of the Montreal General Hospital, was set to take the stage for the last time on March 19.

However, a deal with mental health organization Les Impatients changed the choir’s fate - and members, including saxophonist John Jordan, say they are overjoyed.

“It probably prevents about $100,000 a year in hospitalizations. You know, it saves [the health system] money if you really look at the impact it makes,” Jordan said.

Jordan joined the choir in 2019 after being hospitalized for a manic episode.

He says the choir did wonders for his mental health.

In April, the choir is set to move to its new facility on Saint-Denis Street.

“For the past five weeks, we’ve been stressing out, crying, breaking down, having a heart-to-heart conversation about what comes next, and at least now that’s been lifted,” he said.

Some singers in the group, like Shawn Robb, insist the fight isn’t quite over yet.

He says he hopes MusiArt can serve as an example, paving the way for more investment in music therapy.

“The choir is like a medication for a lot of us. We depend on it. So, to take that away from us is wrong,” Robb said.

With its rebirth at Les Impatients, singer Johnson Kian says he’s excited about what this could mean for the choir’s future.

“There’s already a women’s choir with Les Impatients, and hopefully we can expand the group,” Kian said.