About the Choir
Biographies
Musical Director
Robert Filion’s choirs are celebrated across Canada, earning top awards at the local, provincial and national level. M. Filion is the Artistic Director of the celebrated Ottawa Children’s Choir and also conducts the University of Ottawa Choir and the Chorale du Conservatoire de musique de Gatineau. The ensembles he directed at the Centre d’excellence artistique de l’Ontario won six national championships. The vocal program he directed there was three times designated Best Music Programme in the National Capital Region by the Kiwanis Music Festival and the CBC in 2008, 2012 and 2017.
A talented musician and artistic director, in 2011 Robert Filion was appointed Artistic Director of Unisong, the annual Canada Day festival of Canadian choirs at the National Arts Centre. He works with the National Arts Centre Orchestra on concerts involving youth choirs. He focuses on new works and music from around the world, and has collaborated on productions of original Canadian works by, among others, Ruth Watson-Henderson, Laura Hawley, Kelly-Marie Murphy, Stephen Hatfield, Donald Patriquin, Frédéric Lacroix and Clifford Crawley.
Since 2019 Mr. Filion is the Conseiller pédagogique en arts et culture and continues his work to lead the next generation of choral conductors across Canada. In 2013 he received the Prime Minister’s Award for Teaching Excellence and the “Intervenant en education” award at the Robert-Grandmaitre Awards Gala 2024.
Assistant Director
A native of Quebec City, Maxime Bégin has been performing on Ottawa stages as a choir conductor for over ten years. He holds two master’s degrees in music from Université Laval, a bachelor’s degree in music from Université de Montréal and a bachelor’s degree in education from the University of Ottawa. He is currently completing a master’s degree in choral conducting at Université de Sherbrooke.
During his career, he has received numerous awards and distinctions, including at the Solo Competition with Orchestra of the Université Laval Faculty of Music and at the Canadian Music Competition. He is the recipient of a 2017 CEPEO Bâtisseurs d’excellence award and the 2018 Bernard-Grandmaître Award for Education Intervenant of the Year. He has performed on several stages and at a multitude of events of all kinds, as a choir conductor, soloist, chamber musician, musical director and accompanist. He has collaborated with, among others, Le Cirque du Soleil, the Segal Centre for Performing Arts and the Centre for Musical Theatre Education of Montreal.
Since 2021, Maxime Bégin has directed the CEAO Vocal Ensembles. Entirely dedicated to music, he strives to pass on his passion to his students by offering them multiple opportunities to contribute to the growth of their Francophone community. His ensembles have won numerous competitions and perform on regional, national and international stages.
Accompanist
Rafael Comeau is a third-year undergraduate student in piano performance at the University of Ottawa, where he studies under David Jalbert. Originally from Mission, British Columbia, Rafael has been performing since childhood, both as a soloist and as a collaborator.
Rafael won first place in the 2026 University of Ottawa Concerto Competition and was selected as a semifinalist in the 2026 OSM Competition. He is passionate about collaborative music-making and is excited to work with the University of Ottawa Choir.
History
The University of Ottawa Choir has been associated with the University for more than 90 years.
The Choir carries on a long-standing choral tradition at the University of Ottawa. It has its origins in a choir founded in 1931 by Fr. Conrad Latour, o.m.i., with the aim of reviving interest in Gregorian chant and training church soloists and choirmasters.
Its successor, the Schola Cantorum, created in 1939, undertook to foster interest in liturgical music. Then the Palestrina Choir, established in 1946, ensured the continued existence of choral singing on campus. This mixed voice group of about 80 people performed secular as well as sacred music. Its work was continued by the Collegium Musicum, founded in 1965.
In 1969, the Choir found a permanent home thanks to the late Françoys Bernier, the founding director of the University of Ottawa’s then newly created Music Department (today’s School of Music). Under Mr. Bernier’s leadership, the Choir took on works of increasing scope.
Over the past 50 years, the Choir has performed many major classical works dating from the Renaissance to the 20th century. Canadian works are also an important part of the ensemble’s repertoire.
The Choir has made two recordings, and some of its concerts have been broadcast by the CBC, for example Invitation au Château in June 1997. It has also performed with professional orchestras, including Thirteen Strings, the Hungarian State Symphony Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, and the National Arts Centre Orchestra.
In June 1993, the Choir completed a very successful tour in the south of France, under the direction of Laurence Ewashko. In July 1996, the Choir won first place in the mixed choir category at the International Choral Kathaumixw held in Powell River, British Columbia.
In June 2002, the Choir toured Alsace (France) where it presented concerts of Canadian music, and also sang in a Mass at the Strasbourg Cathedral. It received an invitation from the Russian Ministry of Culture and completed a very successful tour in Russia and the Ukraine in June 2006 and presented four concerts of North American music.
After 18 years as music director of the University of Ottawa Choir, Laurence Ewashko stepped down in December 2009.
Michel Guimont, well-known as choral director at Ottawa’s Notre-Dame Cathedral since 1991, became the choir’s new music director in September 2010. Under Mr. Guimont’s guidance, the choir gave concerts in Ottawa and Montreal, in two instances with the collaboration of the Notre-Dame Cathedral choirs. In January 2014, the choir toured in Cuba where it joined two Cuban choirs for concerts in Havana.
In 2018, the choir welcomed Robert Filion as its musical director.