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The Françoys-Bernier Concert Hall

A performing arts centre designed for music

Inaugurated in the summer of 1996, the Françoys-Bernier concert hall, represents a milestone in the history of the Domaine Forget. Named in honour of its beloved founder-director, the late Françoys Bernier, the 604-seat concert hall (380 ground level and 224 at the balcony level) with exceptional acoustics was designed specifically for musical performance. This professional concert venue has allowed the Domaine Forget to position itself as an concert presenter and organizer of international calibre and a catalyst in the musical community.

Since the very beginning, the Music and Dance Academy which is the basis of the Domaine Forget’s mission, has earned an enviable reputation. However, with the growing student clientele, the outdated heritage buildings were a severe handicap to the Academy’s development. Given the pedagogic standards and the Festival’s flourishing popularity, the Domaine Forget decided that it was also necessary, if not to say essential, to provide its artists a worthy performing arts centre. A professionally-designed concert hall would attract new artists, who have yet to discover its charm, boost the record of attendance and allow for the pursuit of its development both locally as well as internationally.

At long last, Françoys Bernier's lifelong dream became a vast construction and renovation project, an $7,5M investment, made possible by grants from :

Canadian Heritage and Federal Development Bureau ($4.5M)
the Ministère de la Culture et des communication du Québec and the Secrétariat aux affaires régionales ($2,2M)
the Domaine Forget, through its first major capital appeal in 1994

In order to realize its project, the Domaine Forget turned to the following specialists :

Artec Consultants, specialists in theatre consulting and acoustics
Consortium BBGL-Roy, architects
Roche Limited, multi-disciplinary engineers
Beauregard and Associates, landscaping

The contractor, Nova Contruction (Marcel Parent inc.) began construction in May 1995, the first concert was held on June 22, 1996. In accordance with « la politique de l’intégration des arts à l’architecture et à l’environnement du gouvernement du Québec », Suzanne Martel and Lucienne Cornet were chosen to design the works of art that are present in the lobby and on the site.

Although the hall was designed specifically for musical performance, it is also a multifunctional concert hall, setting the stage for productions geared towards a younger public, pop rock artists, theatre, musical comedies, operas, etc. With the The Françoys-Bernier Concert Hall, the Domaine Forget has become a major player on the Canadian and Quebec cultural scenes by presenting varied events in conjunction with local partners.

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The Françoys-Bernier Concert Hall

A performing arts centre designed for music