Venues & stages
Chœur d’Oratorio de Montreux
- Type
- Choir (vocal ensemble)
- Address
- Collège de Chailly, Chemin des Écoliers 9, 1816 Montreux
The Chœur d’Oratorio de Montreux brings together some seventy amateur singers under the direction of Céline Mai. Its repertoire is rich and varied, from Renaissance music to the present day, sacred as much as secular. It rehearses at the Collège de Chailly and performs regularly at the Auditorium Stravinski, across Switzerland and abroad, alongside professional soloists and renowned orchestras.
The Chœur d’Oratorio de Montreux
Two century-old choirs joined
Founded in 2000, the Chœur d’Oratorio de Montreux was born from the merger of the Chœurs de Chailly and the Chorale de Montreux, two century-old ensembles of the region. It set itself the mission of exploring the great choral repertoire, sacred and secular, from the baroque to contemporary creation.
Made up of some seventy passionate amateur singers, the choir stands out for the quality of its performances and the richness of its projects. It works regularly with professional soloists and renowned orchestras, and performs notably at the Auditorium Stravinski in Montreux, but also elsewhere in Switzerland and abroad.
From Yves Bugnon to Céline Mai
After more than twenty years under Yves Bugnon, the choir has been led since 2022 by Céline Mai, choir conductor and composer. Under her impulse the ensemble carries on with enthusiasm, faithful to the choral heritage while looking to the future: musically demanding, yet accessible and open to all.
The choir rehearses at the Collège de Chailly and welcomes those who want to live a work from the inside and to share it, for the joy of audiences and friends alike.
Recent seasons
In recent years the ensemble has performed Liszt’s Missa Choralis in Montreux and Hamburg (2023), Vivaldi’s Gloria and the Magnificats of Vivaldi and Durante in Vevey and Bex (2024), and took part in the Swiss Choir Competition in Chur. In 2025, accompanied by the Da Chiesa orchestra, it presented a programme of Nordic works, including Ola Gjeilo’s Sunrise Mass.
In March 2026 the choir gave Rachmaninov’s Vespers, an a cappella work, with the professional ensemble Post Tenebras Lux.