A Look Back On Her Artistic Residency
The artistic residencies officially began in the summer of 2022. For this edition of the artistic residencies, la Slague was to follow the evolution of Martine Fortin and Aurel.
Initially, the team at la Slague met with the artists to further explore the objectives of their project and determine the mentors and collaborators for the residency. Aurel identified Christian Berthiaume as a potential mentor and collaborator during the meeting, and discussed the possibility of composing four new songs as part of her “Sudbury Soundscapes” project. This project proposes to capture ambient sounds from the Sudbury landscape, and incorporate them into all aspects of the music. Inspired by and rooted in Northern Ontario, Aurel proposes to incorporate Sudbury ambient sounds while making a few references to the region’s literary works in the lyrics.
After some discussion between Aurel, la Slague and Christian Berthiaume, he agreed to work with her on the project, and they set to work in July 2023.
The artistic residencies officially began in the summer of 2022. For this edition of the artistic residencies, la Slague was to follow the evolution of Martine Fortin and Aurel.
Initially, the team at la Slague met with the artists to further explore the objectives of their project and determine the mentors and collaborators for the residency. Aurel identified Christian Berthiaume as a potential mentor and collaborator during the meeting, and discussed the possibility of composing four new songs as part of her “Sudbury Soundscapes” project. This project proposes to capture ambient sounds from the Sudbury landscape, and incorporate them into all aspects of the music. Inspired by and rooted in Northern Ontario, Aurel proposes to incorporate Sudbury ambient sounds while making a few references to the region’s literary works in the lyrics.
After some discussion between Aurel, la Slague and Christian Berthiaume, he agreed to work with her on the project, and they set to work in July 2023.
photo : Ali Rodriguez
In the months that followed, Aurel and Christian Berthiaume continued to work together, exchanging ideas to create four new songs. By the end of 2022, they had created first drafts of these new compositions.
It was in December 2022 that a second opportunity to perform live arose; Dan Bédard, producer and veteran bassist, invited Aurel and Martine Fortin 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.
Aurel 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, Aurel began to work on the new arrangements.
Rehearsals for la Nuit sur l’étang then began in February and continued 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 artists closing the evening, including Aurel. She presented one of the new songs from the artistic residency during this show. With over 200 spectators in attendance, it was a memorable evening.
photo : Leo Duquette
Next stop for the 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, Aurel presented three new songs from her artistic residency.
In the intimate ambience of La Zone, on the second floor of Place des Arts, Aurel delivered a spellbinding performance to an audience of fifty, captivated by her presence and the journey she weaves throughout her show.
photo : Isak Vaillancourt
To bring the artistic residencies to a close, la Slague organized a small private show at The Night Owl on June 22, 2023 to give the artists a chance to present the fruits of their labor.
Aurel presented the final versions of the four songs from “Sudbury Soundscapes”. For this residency, Aurel had set herself the challenge of playing with backing tracks. She therefore played the final versions of the project’s compositions accompanied by piano and rhythmic soundtracks, incorporating the Sudbury ambient sounds she recorded during the residency. These tracks were produced in collaboration with Christian Berthiaume, who accompanied Aurel throughout the project. The result? Unique songs inspired by the City of Greater Sudbury, with a collaborative signature between Aurel and Christian Berthiaume.
Congratulations to Martine and Aurel!
The team at la Slague would like to congratulate Aurel on her progress during this residency. We’re proud of you!
Aurel plans to release the recordings of these new songs in the autumn of 2023, so stay tuned!
You can follow Aurel on her Facebook page, or her Instagram account.
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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.