Meet the Troupe

"If music be the food of love, sing on, sing on,
'till I am filled with joy!"

This is the first line of a song by Henry Purcel inspired by Shakespeare.  It is a good summation of our approach to music.  Don't do it unless it feels good. In spite of, or probably because of this, we continue to perfect our musical capacities. 

One problem with history is that it is often distant and foreign. Our approach to early music is to embody it with our manner and costumes, to give it a living, feeling, human face. When performing our music, we strive to encompass both its sublime beauty and its earthy humour; and all the other human experiences that come between. Fortunately it helps to have someone like Huguette to balance our emotional wildness with a bit of musical discipline. 
 
Huguette Voyer
from Drummondville, studied music at l’Université du Québec à Montréal, where in 1974, under the direction of M. Jean-Pierre Vetter, she obtained a degree in Teaching with an option in Interpretation. She first taught at Collège Marguerite-Bourgeoys in Montréal, then in a number of schools in the Petite-Nation in West Québec and at Parsifal School in Ottawa. She continues to teach individual students, in and around St-André-Avellin where she now resides. For the past 18 years she has directed the Choeur de Pom’, a regional choir with members from over ten local towns and villages. She is also a founding member of Le Choeur Classique de la Petite-Nation and, for the pure joy of it, she sings soprano and plays the recorder with L’Ensemble Cantabile. She also has major talents in dress making and costume creation. 

Email : Huguette Voyer

Laurie McFall

A native of Toronto, Laurie studied piano as a child, and sang for two years in St. Wilfred’s Anglican Church Choir. In 1976 she went to Trois-Rivières to study classical voice with Marie Daveluy at the Université du Québec. In 1979 she sang second soprano with the Boucherville Lyric Theatre Group. Since 1990 Laurie has lived in Lachute, she is also a member of Amaryllis, a women’s choir in Vankleek Hill Ontario. She is now a highly dramatic alto and founding member of L’ Ensemble Cantabile and Le Choeur Classique de la Petite-Nation. She is also a former school teacher who is presently the director of a community mental-health centre in Lachute. 

Email: Laurie McFall
 

Paul Desbiens
is from Shawinigan. His early music studies began in Trois-Rivières as a soprano soloist in a youth choir. In 1988, he took his clear tenor voice to Les Voix d’Argenteuil, a long established adult community choir in Lachute. In 1994 he was a soloist in Mozart’s Requiem. When he is not singing, he creates custom furniture and colorful abstract paintings. His humour is quite unique; dry and a bit weird. He is one of the founding member of both L’Ensemble Cantabile and Le Choeur classique de la Petite-Nation. He is also our musical archivist. 

Email: Paul Desbiens

Brian Fisher

a native of Ottawa, began his career at the age of 8 as a boy chorister. For 14 years he sang with the Gentlemen and Boys of St. Matthew's Church Choir under the successive direction of Gerald Wheeler and Brian Law. It was at that time he developed his passion for renaissance music from the likes of such composers as Palestrina, Byrd, Tallis and Purcell. While at school he sang with the first Ottawa School Board Massed Choir, the Glebe Collegiate Lyre's Club and the Carleton University Choral Society. Other musical influences have been gathered over the years from the black community in Chicago, the people of rural India and the rich culture of Québec. For the past 14 years he has sung with Le Choeur de Pom’, the musical voice of La Petite-Nation. Former teacher, international community development consultant, group facilitator and farmer in Ripon, he is presently the wild basso profundo in L’Ensemble Cantabile and the founder of Le Choeur Classique de la Petite-Nation.

Email: Brian Fisher
 

Jacques Nadeau
Born in Cabano Québec, is a transplanted Montrealler with 17 year old roots in the Petite-Nation in St-André-Avellin. A draftsman by profession, a carpenter-furniture maker by occupation and a musician by predilection he has been our rhythmic accompanist extraordinaire for over 4 years.