Pascal Alain
Pascal has studied history at the Université de Sherbrooke and regional development at UQAR. Very involved in the regional history, he has been working for many museal institutions in Gaspésie. He has been working on the reedition of the Histoire des Acadiens written by the genealogist Bona Arsenault in 2004. He has actively been part of the creation of the magazine Graffici in which he writes a monthly chronicle. His main historical interests are the settlements in the Gaspé Coast and the Guerre de 7 ans (1756-1763).
Jean-François Berthiaume
Percussionist, caller, dancer and choreographer, Jean-François has a rich and diversified experience. Since 20 years, he is devoted to traditional dancing across Québec and he is konwn as one of the most original callers. He is a percussionist for Réveillons! and Galant tu perds ton temps, two well known traditional bands. He has taken part in many recordings and continues to work as a teacher and choreographer in many traditional dance schools. His passion, energy and charm make him an authentic traditional artist.
Aldo Brochet
Aldo has studied settlement form Miscou to the Lower North Shore. His interests include fisheries technology, architecture, sculpture, and boat-building on the Maritime coast. He is a descendant of pioneers such as Johannes Becker dit Blondin, Amos Hall, and the families of Bertrand, Bezeau, David and Janvrin, among others. Aldo is a passionate genealogist and folklore collector.
Sarah Desjardins
Sarah started learnig piano at the age of 5 and has a college degree in German flute and classical violin. She became member of the Orchestre symphonique de l’Estuaire and started to teach violin in 2000. Since many years she developed her interest for the Québec and Irish traditional music and is a member the regional association of traditional musicians La Marée Montante since 6 years.
Brigid Drody
Brigid was born into Douglastown’s musical Drody family. She has been around fiddle music all her life and grew up with the sounds of her father Joseph and of her uncle Charlie Drody. While all of her brothers, Johnny, Joseph, and Anthony also learned the fiddle, she began backing them up on the guitar at a young age. She is one of the finest guitar accompanists and plays in a true old-time style featuring a heavy use of bass-walks and unique strum patterns. For the last 40 years, she has resided in the Chateauguay Valley, Québec
Barbara Duguay
Barbara comes from a family of dancers from Anse-aux-Gascons. Her father Bona, known as a very good dancer started to initiate her to step dancing during family kitchen parties. She has taken part in many training sessions and festivals (Site de la Bolduc, La Grande Gigue Simple, La Virée, etc.). Her interest for step dancing and traditional music gave her the opportunity to be part of many shows, playing spoons and foot stomping. She teaches her art in many cultural organizations of the MRC Rocher-Percé and elsewhere on the Peninsula.
Fred Graham
Fred was born and grew up in the Ardoyne district of Belfast and joined his father’s North Belfast Accordion Band in 1958. Since then, he has been competing and playing with numerous bands and traditional Québec folk dance troupes across Canada and Europe. When he is not teaching bodhràn, he is making and refurbishing them. Fred has been touring with The Irish Rovers since 2007
Kathy Kennedy
Kathy is a Douglastown born sound artist with a background in classical singing. After her studies at Concordia and McGill, she completed a Masters in performance (voice) at Western University. Along with many performances done across Canada and the United-States, she conducts the Choeur Maha of Montréal and teaches electroacoustic at the Music Department of Concordia University.
Kitchen Party
Created in 2004, the band quickly gained a solid professional reputation due in good part to their three successful tours of Scotland. The band recently reached the mark some 500 shows. All band members have professional between 8 to 12 years of stage experience. All are active in different styles of music ranging from rock to jazz passing through classical, giving a unique perspective and influence to the band.
Stéphanie Lépine
Stéphanie was born in a musical family and has been playing the fiddle since more than 15 years. She learned piano and violin at an early age and continued her college study in music. The reknown Irish fiddler Kevin Burke and the ethno-musicologist and musician Lisa Ornstein supported her in her training. Member of La Galvaude band, she recorded 3 albums and has participated in many others traditional music recordings. Her style deeply rooted in the Québec tradition has Scandinavian, Irish and East European influences.
Glenn Patterson
Glenn was born and raised in the suburbs of Toronto in 1982. He started to play guitar at 12. At university, he discovered the traditional music of the southern United States and began to learn the fiddle which became his primary musical instrument. Now based in Montréal since 5 years, he has devoted his time to the repertoire and techniques of fiddlers from Kentucky, West Virginia and Missouri. Since 2010, he is interested in the traditional fiddlers of the Gaspé Coast. He is the co-administrator of the site Erskine Morris : Old-Time fiddle of the Gaspé Coast.
Véronique Plasse
From the Montréal area, Véronique has a passion for Québec traditional music since 10 years. With her classical violin bakcground she plays traditional music with a specific creativity. She is part of Barbo, Hurlevent and La part du Quêteux traditional bands. Artistic director of the Jeunes musiciens du monde de Montréal, teacher of violin and voice, she started the 4 arts de la veillée workshops for children within the Société pour la danse traditionnelle québécoise.
Laura Risk
Laura grew up in the thriving San Francisco Scottish fiddle scene of the 1980s and 90s, learning her craft from acclaimed fiddler Alasdair Fraser. Now living in Montréal, Laura tours internationally as a solist and with her band Triptych. She has over 10 albums to her credit, including her latest release 2000 Miles, which offers a distinctly Québécois take on classic Scottish fiddle tunes.
Salty Dog
Salty Dog plays Celtic folk music with a distinctively Maritime flavour. For the past 19 years, this 4 musicians Montréal-based group has brought foot-stomping, hand-clapping songs and fiddle tunes to many parts of Eastern Canada including Québec, Ontario, New-Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. www.saltydog.ca
Roger Stone
Raised in Cape Breton Island, Roger is an accomplished singer, songwriter and musician playing mostly guitar and banjo. He practices martial arts since many years and holds a 2nd dan black belt in Yoshin Ryu Jujutsu. Last year in Halifax, he created the Celtic Stick Fighting Society and came up with a training program that blends martial art expertise with a modern twist on the traditional Irish and Scottish stick fighting
Marie-Lys Trudel
Marie-Lys is a Gaspesian of adoption and a Douglastown resident. Her passion for violin goes back 20 years when she received her first music lessons in her native town of Rosemere. She is somewhat of a globetrotter musician, travelling and playing in many styles : classic, jazz, folk, rock, country, world music, Québec and Maritimes traditional music, as well as playing her own compositions. She teaches violin in Gaspé since a few years.
