March 12, 2018
An unforgettable musical experience awaited some 375 francophone students from all across the province who gathered in Sudbury from March 3 to 6 for the Quand ça nous chante music festival. Collège Notre-Dame (Sudbury), École secondaire catholique l’Horizon (Val Caron), École secondaire catholique Jeunesse-Nord (Blind River) and École secondaire Notre-Dame-du-Sault (Sault Ste. Marie) from the Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario took part in the 15th edition of the festival. This annual festival was organized by the Association des professionnels de la chanson et de la musique (APCM) in partnership with this year’s host school, ÉSC l’Horizon.
Sudbury’s Collège Notre-Dame’s musical Le Bistro group took home the “Coup de Coeur, Fierté franco-ontarienne” award. This award goes to a group of students in acknowledgement of outstanding pride and commitment in showcasing an original repertoire or existing songs from Franco-Ontarian artists. The distinction also comes with a $100 gift card that can be used toward the purchase of music from the APCM.
Two outstanding musicians from ÉSC l’Horizon, guitarist and singer Michel Roux and multi-instrumentalist and singer Nikola Goulet, along with the remarkable singer from Collège Notre-Dame, Maxine Lemieux, were amongst ten students chosen for the “Coup de Cœur du Parrain” award (The All-Star Team Award). This award will provide them with free admission to the music stream at the May 18–21, 2018 Jeux franco-ontariens.
ÉSC Horizon student Meagan Bigras distinguished herself among the participants, earning one of only three “Coup de Cœur, Meilleures artistes solo” awards. The award also means that she will travel to Granby (Québec) this September and take part in the “Jamais trop tôt” (young artists) project during the Festival international de la chanson de Granby.
Finally, ÉSC l’Horizon played a superlative role as host school, involving its students in all aspects of the festival. Students volunteered their time to act as between set hosts as well as coordinating and filming the live stream of the festival that was broadcast on YouTube.
“It’s was truly a special and unique experience for our young musicians, who had a rare opportunity to perform a 20-minute set for other students whose passion for music is equally strong. Each performing group also receives feedback from a professional artist following their set, which helps them to grow as young artists,” explained ÉSC l’Horizon teacher André Lachance, adding that, “Our school has taken part in the festival for several years now, but being host school enabled us to get more of our students involved in this wonderful event and provide them with some great hands-on learning. It proved to be a terrific teamwork opportunity for our school!”
“Students taking part in the festival were able to live out their passion for music, share their talents and receive feedback from professional artists,” explained CSCNO Director of Education, Mrs. Lyse-Anne Papineau. “By being exposed to a variety of styles of francophone music and through their contacts with other musicians from across the province, students could see and hear for themselves that the French-language music industry is alive and well in Ontario and that a musical career in French remains a real possibility.”
The Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario offers a French Catholic Educational Program that is widely recognized for its excellence. The CSCNO provides a quality learning environment and academic program that runs from early childhood to adult education, with some 7,000 students enrolled in 27 elementary and 10 secondary schools.
Source: Brigitte Morin
External Relations Coordinator
Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario
705-673-5626, ext. 389
705-690-9740 (cell)