A Director's Diary: The Music After Hours
- Suzanne Charlebois
- Nov 6, 2025
- 3 min read
The last of the violin cases snapped shut, the stands folded away, and the gentle hum of the gallery returned. But the air was still electric. A peculiar magic happened when our space dedicated to visual art was suddenly filled with sound. As the Director of one of Montréal's newest art galleries, I’m learning that the most inspiring moments often happen after the official events are over.
Our gallery, a stone's throw from the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, is a little different. We’re a non-profit with a heartbeat dedicated to one thing: helping Quebec artists gain the exposure they deserve. In our first few whirlwind months, we’ve celebrated five painting sales, facilitated two commissioned works, and thrown two vibrant vernissages that filled the space with laughter and lively conversation.
But tonight was something new. We’ve begun collaborating with the Orchestre Nouvelle Génération, and they just used our space for an incredible rehearsal. The walls, usually home to silent, still paintings, had been breathing with the rise and fall of variations of La Folia, Purple Haze, and Sympathy For The Devil in passionate rhythms of dynamic compositions.
In the quiet afterglow, I had the chance to sit down with Natasha Turovsky, the Creative Director of ONG. It was a conversation, director to director, artist to artist. ONG has been a fixture in the Montreal music scene for over 14 years, and Natasha herself is an accomplished painter with work represented in galleries from Miami to Beverly Hills. To say I was eager to pick her brain would be an understatement.
I learned a lot tonight. Not just about ONG’s history, but about the real, unvarnished dance of making a life in the arts. We spoke of the years musicians and artists spend honing their craft for little to no money. We talked about the endless, necessary hustle: applying for grants, searching for funding, and pouring countless hours into rehearsal, all while hoping—praying—that the public will connect and ticket sales will follow.
It’s a labour of love, but the "labour" part is very real.
Their next concert, ThemeS & VariationS, is in just eight days, on Saturday, November 15th at 7:30 PM. The beautiful historic Centre St Jax will be filled with what I now know is their extraordinary sound. It should be a purely exciting time.
But as Natasha spoke, a shadow of concern crossed her face. It’s one that many of us in Montreal’s cultural sector are sharing right now: the metro and bus strike. The question hanging in the air is a heavy one, a practical fear that clashes with artistic passion: If people can’t find a way to get to the show, will they bother to buy a ticket?
It’s a stark reminder that for all the beauty we create, the arts exist in the real world. They are subject to stalled traffic and logistical nightmares. Yet, listening to the dedication in Natasha's voice, and remembering the powerful music that had just echoed through our gallery, I felt a surge of conviction.
This is exactly why spaces and collaborations like ours are so vital. We are a community. We support the painters on our walls and the musicians who fill our spaces with sound. We find a way.
So, Montreal, let’s show them that a strike won't stop us from supporting our local arts scene. Let’s carpool, use Bixi, share an Uber and make a night of it. The passion and talent of Orchestre Nouvelle Génération is worth the extra effort. Let’s fill Centre St Jax and prove that the music, and the spirit behind it, is unstoppable.
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ThemeS & VariationS
Orchestre Nouvelle Génération
Saturday, November 15, 7:30 PM
Centre St Jax, 1439 Saint-Catherine St. W.
Tickets are available through EventBrite.com or in person at our gallery, Galerie d’Art Émergence (2130 rue Crescent, Montreal).
Buy your tickets today!
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