Under the direction of its conductor and artistic director Nicolas Ellis, the Orchester de l’Agora will present the fourth edition of the Gala de la Terre on July 4, 2026 at 7:30 p.m. at the Amphithéâtre Fernand-Lindsay in Joliette, the largest outdoor concert hall in Canada.
Bringing together more than 110 musicians and singers, the program traces a musical journey through the relationship between humanity and nature. Featured, the dazzling and virtuoso Rite of Spring by Igor Stravinsky, as well as La Symphonie gaspésienne by Claude Champagne, which will be performed in homage to the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Saint-Laurent environmental project, supported this year. The Orchestra will have the privilege of welcoming soprano Julie Fuchs, who will perform Shéhérazade by Maurice Ravel, a true portrait of a legendary Orient. The concert will also feature Chorus Nunavik by Canadian composer Katia Makdissi-Warren, inspired by Inuit vocal traditions and performed with Lydia Etok and Nina Segalowitz, artists practicing katajjaq, traditional throat singing.
$5 per concert ticket sold will be donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Le Saint-Laurent project. The Orchester de l’Agora’s Earth Gala invites the public to take an interest in initiatives aimed at protecting fragile ecosystems here in Quebec. Since its first edition in 2020, the event has raised $513,000 for environmental protection. The funds raised are donated to organizations actively working to protect nature. In 2022, the event was awarded Musical Event of the Year at the prestigious Prix Opus, and was a finalist for the same award in 2024.
PROGRAMSGaspésienne Symphony – Claude ChampagneShéhérazade, three pieces for voice and orchestra – Maurice RavelSacre du Printemps – Igor StravinskiNunavik Chorus – Katia Makdissi-Warren
ARTISTSAgora OrchestraNicolas Ellis, conductorLydia Etok, Inuit throat singerNina Segalowitz, Inuit throat singerJulie Fuchs, soprano
PRODUCT BYOrchestre de l’AgoraFestival de LanaudièreThe Orchester de l’Agora thanks all the partners of the Gala de la Terre 2026, the Festival de Lanaudière, the Razeghi-Cattelan Foundation, Canimex, Lallemand, Norton Rose Fulbright, Loto-Québec, the Caisse d’entreprises solidaire Desjardins, the Place des Arts, the Sibylla Hesse Foundation, the beneficiary organization Nature Conservancy of Canada, as well as its public partners: the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec, the Conseil des arts de Montréal and the Canada Council for the Arts.
HONORARY PRESIDENTBita CattelanCOMMITTEENicolas EllisJean-Frédéric Caron