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A Grandiose, Musical Unveiling at FACE School with Charlotte Cardin.

20 | 12 | 2019
Charlotte Cardin and our ambassador Anne-Marie Withenshaw. Photo by Lucas Rupnik

The evenko foundation donated a Yamaha grand piano to the FACE School in downtown Montreal. A surprise visit by Charlotte Cardin made the inauguration of the new piano very festive. Following a lively, touching discussion about music with Anne-Marie Withenshaw, the school’s auditorium turned into a concert venue. Charlotte generously played two songs. She was accompanied by a choir of more than a hundred students for Faufile. A wonderfully emotional moment!

The 1,300 students attending that establishment will benefit from this superb instrument, from kindergarten to high school. The impact of this donation is considerable: the piano will become the centrepiece of the keyboard department, and the main element of the concerts and choir performances over the next few decades.

“This rallying event is in the image of the use that will be made of the new piano. It will notably be used for rehearsals, singing performances, piano concertos, and some fifty instrumental concerts featuring large ensembles, in addition to being available to students who study the piano,” says Nathalie Roberge, Director of the evenko foundation. “The piano that the school previously owned, which was more than 100 years old, could no longer meet their needs.”

At FACE—which is a bilingual school—every student is introduced to theatre, choir singing, instrumental music, and plastic arts. At the secondary level, dance classes are also added. The students are passionate, open-minded, hard-working, versatile, and well equipped to deal with life. FACE, which will celebrate its 45thanniversary in 2020, is the only school offering such a program in Quebec, both on the elementary and high school levels, with the two school boards coexisting. Its admission policy is inclusive, with students being selected at random instead of via exams or auditions. Hence, youth from every socio-economic background gets an equal chance to access the school’s challenging, unique program.