The “Kateri: Prophecies and the Sacred Woman” concert was performed by the combined choirs of SMAM and Notre Dame Cathedral at the Notre Dame Basilica on April 17, 2026 in Ottawa, Ontario. This concert wove together western music traditions and living indigenous themes and language. The concert was dedicated to St. Kateri Tekakwitha and held on her feast day in Canada, commemorating her death in 1680 at age 24. Known as the “Lily of the Mohawks,” she was the first Indigenous person from North America canonized (2012) and is honored as the patron saint of ecology, the environment, and Indigenous peoples.
The concert combined the efforts of three conductors and two choirs. They included the choirs of Notre-Dame Basilica, Michel Guimont, conductor, and Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (SMAM) Andrew McAnerney, and Andrew Balfour.
The mission of the Studio de musique ancienne de Montréal (SMAM) is to convey the vitality, sensuality and conviction of all the dimensions of Renaissance and Baroque music. They perform sacred and secular vocal music composed primarily before 1750. Under the musical direction of Andrew McAnerney, the SMAM consists of 18 professional singers chosen for the purity and clarity of their voices.
The concert music was composed and dedicated to St. Kateri by Winnipeg Cree Composer and Conductor, Andrew Belfour. Akwesasronon Elders Bernice Lazore and Dr. Rose-Alma McDonald (Archdiocese of Ottawa-Cornwall Indigenous Advisor) were there for the opening of the concert along with Tom Dearhouse, a Kahnawake Mohawk Elder. They offered a welcome, land acknowledgement and prayers honoring St. Kateri Tekakwitha.
The music performed by the combined choirs wove together western music traditions and living indigenous themes and language. The programme celebrated the lives and works of sacred women including the Virgin Mary, and a new work by indigenous composer Andrew Balfour, inspired by the life of Kateri Tekakwitha.
A leading composer in Canada, Andrew Balfour is a central figure in the choral world. Based between Winnipeg and Toronto, he is the founder and artistic director of the vocal ensemble Dead of Winter (formerly Camerata Nova), which he has led since 1996 and with which he creates “concept concerts” often rooted in Indigenous themes.
Andrew Balfour’s life path is closely tied to a search for identity. Taken from his Cree family at the age of six months and adopted by a white Anglican family, he grew up in an environment shaped by classical music. Throughout his journey, he has also sought to reconnect with his Indigenous roots, notably through musical creation. Part of his work explores the concept of artistic reconciliation: his compositions frequently incorporate Indigenous languages and engage with spiritual and cultural themes
