Last month, thanks to our team of volunteer translators, we launched our new English-only and French-only electronic editions to allow readers access to all the texts in their language of choice. This marks an important new step in advancing our mission to promote music and the arts. Please visit our award-winning website SCENA.org for the September issue; the October editions will be available as of October 7. We are looking for more volunteer translators for this project; if you would like to help, please email cv(a)scena.org

La Scena Musicale celebrates the organ this month: our cover article profiles the four stars who will come head to head on October 16 as part of the Rendez-vous des grands, four winners from four major organ competitions on the big screen: Frédéric Champion, Bálint Karosi, Michael Unger, and Konstantin Volostnov. We also meet organ builder Hellmuth Wolff, recent winner of the Opus Award for Instrument Maker of the Year, who shares his secrets to the organ. Lastly, the October Discovery CD (courtesy XXI Records and free for subscribers) is dedicated to the works of Charles-Marie Widor, performed by five different Canadian organists.

As a tribute to the late great Maureen Forrester, two of our writers share their fond memories. In our Maestro’s Choice, Nouvel Ensemble Moderne conductor Lorraine Vaillancourt expresses her fascination with Xenakis. We meet the Cecilia String Quartet, recent first-place winner at the Banff International String Quartet Competition, as well as rising stars pianist David Jalbert and soprano Marie-Eve Munger.

Our ‘Work of the Month’ is Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 and we look at scary music to set the mood for Halloween. Our newest features include Classical Music 101, a regular look at classical music for the layperson and Musical Cities, of which the first installment will explore Trois-Rivières.

In our Jazz column, we look at the upcoming Off Festival, which now takes place in October. Check out our competition guide for news and application deadlines. Finally, as always, enjoy our reviews of CDs, books, and DVDs, the latest news, and our concert picks and calendar.

Our Endowment Fund campaign continues, and we urge you to help us reach our goal of raising $100,000 by November 30; each dollar raised will be matched with an additional $1.50 by the Quebec Placement Culture program. We have already raised over $30,000 and are planning several private fundraising events, including a recital with Russell Braun in Toronto. La Scena Musicale depends on your support in order to continue promoting classical music in Canada and we are grateful for your readership and encouragement.