A Look Back on the Artistic Residency
The artistic residencies officially began in the summer of 2022. For this edition of the artistic residencies, the Slague was to follow the evolution of Martine Fortin and Aurel.
As a first step, the Slague team met with the artists to further explore their project objectives and determine the mentors and collaborators for the residency. Martine Fortin identified Dan Bédard and Patricia Cano as potential mentors during the meeting, and discussed the possibility of making new arrangements of four songs.
The artists in residence at la Slague presented their work a few times during the 2022-2023 season and, to kick off the residencies, they were invited to present an original song in acoustic format at the launch of the 2022-2023 season on July 28, 2022 at the Bistro of Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury. Martine Fortin presented her song alone, accompanied by guitar, and immediately captured the audience’s attention.
photo : Ali Rodriguez
In the months that followed, she began the process of creating new arrangements. It was in December 2022 that a second opportunity to perform live arose; Dan Bédard, producer and veteran bassist, invited the artists-in-residence to take part in the 50th edition of La Nuit sur l’étang. This special edition of the annual festival was to be divided into two evenings; “de ses racines collectives aux quatre vents de l’avenir possible”. The second evening gave up-and-coming artists the chance to take the stage and close the fiftieth edition of the festival.
Martine Fortin worked closely with Dan Bédard to create three new arrangements of three original songs, to be performed with a houseband and five members of the Sudbury Symphony Orchestra. Starting in January 2023, Martine began to work on the new arrangements.
Rehearsals for La Nuit sur l’étang then begin in February and continue right up to the date of the event; March 25, 2023.
This second evening of the 50th edition of the Nuit, held in Collège Boréal’s Salle Trisac, featured over twenty artists, with five up-and-coming female performers closing the evening, including Martine Fortin. With over 200 spectators in attendance, it was a memorable evening.
photo : Joël Ducharme
Next stop for the artistic residency performances: the 9th Nuit émergente. This emerging music festival, in a “choose your own adventure” format, is an annual music event for all those who love discovery and exploration. This year’s festival took place on May 19 and 20, 2023 at Place des Arts du Grand Sudbury.
For the occasion, Martine Fortin presented acoustic versions of her four songs.
Hidden behind the stage of La Grande Salle, Martine offered two intimate performances of her songs to an attentive audience, charmed by her clear and confident voice.
photo : Isak Vaillancourt
To bring the artistic residencies to a close, la Slague organized a small private show atThe Night Owl on June 22, 2023, to give the artists a chance to present the fruits of their labor.
Martine Fortin presented acoustic versions of her songs, accompanied by keyboardist Zach Clément. She thus demonstrated the versatility of her work, while presenting new arrangements of her songs.
Félicitations à Martine et Aurel!
The team at la Slague would like to congratulate Martine on her progress during this residency. We’re so proud of you!
Martine is planning to record a full album soon, so stay tuned!
You can follow Martine on her Facebook page, or her Instagram account.
photo : Bennett Malcolmson
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La Slague's Evolution
La Slague was established in 1964 by the Centre des jeunes de Sudbury. After many years of success, La Slague went dormant, and then reappeared for a time in the mid-1980s as a community-based volunteer organization. With La Slague’s renaissance in 2006 as part of the Carrefour francophone, a third generation of concert promotion activities was afoot.