Free concert in Monaco

This Saturday, May 2, at 7 pm, London’s Chamber Choir of St. Martin-in-the-Fields will perform Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem and Michael Higgin’s The Cloths of Heaven at St. Paul’s Anglican Church.

A skilled ensemble of around 30 singers, the Choir is known for its versatility and clarity of sound. Their recent performances have ranged from major choral works by Johannes Brahms and Sergei Rachmaninoff to contemporary premieres, reflecting a breadth of musical engagement grounded in careful preparation.

The one-hour performance will be directed by Olivia Tait, assistant director of music at St. Martin-in-the-Fields, whose work spans beyond concert direction to recordings and collaborations with leading ensembles. She is joined by organist Jonathan Dods, who contributes to the musical cohesion of the programme as accompanist and director.

Michael Higgin’s The Cloths of Heaven, inspired by W. B. Yeats, will add for the audience an intimate, poetic warmth to Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem’s soft, luminous calm.

“We are really privileged in having such wonderful musicians with us this weekend and to experience the beauty of Fauré that the world so desperately needs,” says Father Hugh Bearn, who has been serving St. Paul’s Anglican Church Monte-Carlo since April 2023.

The free event at 22 avenue de Grande Bretagne is open to all, with no tickets required. A retiring collection will be taken in support of the ongoing work of St Paul’s Anglican Church.

Article first published April 30, 2026.

Free concert at Place des Moulins for Fête de la Musique

MIMA Club president Vanina Aronica (right) with Carla and Martine Ackermann.

Monaco’s town hall is throwing a free concert for the Fête de la Musique in the gardens at Place des Moulins.

The MIMA Club, under the artistic direction of Vanina Aronica, has been invited to perform an outdoor concert from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Friday, June 21. “To celebrate Music Day in Monaco, we will offer a mixed program of jazz, classical and French and international pop songs under the theme of Summer Time,” says Vanina, a professional opera singer.

Born in Paris, Vanina is a Franco-American who lives between the French Riviera and Beverly Hills. “I have been coming to Monaco since I was a kid as my parents had a house in Eze.”

Vanina has been belting out the tunes from a young age and later sang in Monaco with stars like Julian Lennon for the Rainforest Foundation and with Scorpions’ drummer Herman Rarebell, a resident at the time who founded Monaco Records, the country’s first label.

Vanina is president of MIMA (Monaco International Music & Arts Club), which was founded in 2022. The singing club is open to all ages and free to join, and is an official partner of The Golden Voices Music Awards, an international singing competition created in Cannes.

“I do this to help promote our young talent so they can get stage experience, singing also with professionals, and after good preparation,” says the Soprano, who covers the same repertoire as Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.

“There will be many talented performers for the Summer Time concert, including the winners of The Golden Voices Music Awards with the Monaco team. Come join us.”

Article first published June 20, 2024. Photo courtesy of Martine Ackermann.