Les Troubadours de Sudbury choir

In its early days, Les Troubadours were simply a group of music enthusiasts. Over the years, this group has become a well-established bilingual community choir, known for the originality of its acts, the energy of its performances, the diversity of its repertoire, and the complexity of its vocal work.

It all began in 1994 when Normand Blanchard and other professors from Cambrian College presented a cabaret show at the College. Josée Forest-Niesing, a member of the Carrefour francophone executive, was impressed by their performance and decided to meet Normand. Following their discussions, the two parties decided to form a choir associated with the Carrefour francophone.

The choir took shape under Blanchard’s musical direction and produced a cabaret show at Club Alouette in June 1995, with proceeds going to charity. Blanchard was also responsible for administration, supported by Diane Leblanc as treasurer.

In the spring of 1996, Normand Blanchard stepped down as director of Les Troubadours. However, a determined core of singers wanted to preserve this bilingual, non-denominational, multi-part choir. They hired Lise Jean-Louis as musical director the following autumn. This new version of the choir, renamed Les Troubadours, performed at the Fraser Auditorium for the first time in April 1998. Following their example, in the autumn of 1998, the Troubadours’ organizational structure was formally established, forming a statement of principles.

From 1998 to the present day, the musical leadership has evolved; The Troubadours have worked and grown alongside Lise Jean-Louis (1998-2001), Monique Lapalme-Arsenault (2001-2005), Marc Cyr (2005-2007), Monique Lapalme-Arsenault (2007-2011), Hélène Berthiaume and Heather Brown (2011-2012), and Darquise Poulin (2012-2017). Since 1998, the bilingual choir has performed twice a year, during the holiday season and in the spring.

Following the pandemic, the Troubadours were forced to take a three-year hiatus.

Demonstrating resilience, the choir returned in full force in 2023, under the new direction of Stéphanie Doyle.

The Troubadours celebrated their 30 years of harmonies in 2024 to the great delight of the spectators.

A big thank you to our show partner!

A big thank you to our show partner, the 57 and 61 units of l’AEFO ! Your valuable contribution means a lot to us!

We would also like to thank our sponsors for the show, the Centre franco-ontarien de folklore, the Théâtre du Nouvel-Ontario, the Club Richelieu féminin de Sudbury, the Centre de santé communautaire du Grand Sudbury and Computrek.