Concours international d'orgue du Canada / Canadian International Organ Competition
Mission Statement
The CIOC presents, every year in October, a festival with some of the world's finest organists from throughout Canada and around the world. Every third year, the CIOC organizes an international competition in which a prestigious jury representing various countries awards important prizes to a selection of the best young organists in the world. Seeking to actively participate in the cultural life, the CIOC annually develops a programme of activities in collaboration with various organisations of the organ world; these musical and educational activities are designed to emphasize the cultural importance of pipe organs – treasures of our heritage – for a wide and diverse audience.
About This Cause
The Canadian International Organ Competition (CIOC) promotes pipe organ music by increasing public awareness and interest in the vast repertoire of the organ. Since 2012, the CIOC has been presenting an annual international organ festival in Montreal to underscore the rich Canadian heritage of organ building, and emphasizing the wealth of fine, historically significant instruments in and around Montreal. Since 2014, we have become the co-presenter of the Festival des couleurs de l’orgue français, which allows us to include an additional four, high-quality concerts in our series and support a superb festival that has had an annual presence in Montreal for over 20 years. Seeking to actively participate in our national cultural vitality, the CIOC has developed a programme of activities in collaboration with other like-minded organizations. These musical and educational activities are designed to emphasize the cultural importance of pipe organs in Canada – treasures of our heritage – for a wide and diverse audience. The CIOC has become the preeminent curator and promoter of pipe organ music in Canada. Each individual instrument is work of art in its own right; hundreds of hours of intricate work by artisan organ builders, visual and aural creativity and beauty, and tons (literally!) of primary resources go into building each one of these majestic instruments. With over 3000 pipe organs in communities large and small across the country, we have a huge untapped source and inspiration for musical activities across the country.