About

Musique Royale proudly presents four dynamic young performers were brought together by friendship and their common passion for the baroque repertoire: Les Songes. Consisting of soprano Samantha Louis­‐Jean, recorder player Vincent Lauzer, baroque cellist Camille Paquette­‐Roy and harpsichordist Mélisande McNabney, 2015 and 2016 brought Les Songes across Canada performing their program Alma Innamorata, on tour twice presented by the Jeunesses Musicales Canada.

With this program, they were nominated at the Prix Opus in the Concert of the Year – medieval, Renaissance, baroque music category. Les Songes have performed in the Clavecin en Concert and La Dauphine concert series, at the Bourgie Hall and the Chapelle historique du Bon­‐Pasteur, as well as the International Baroque Music Festival in Lamèque. Their concert Agitata was recorded and broadcast by CBC ICI Musique.

Come to Cecilia’s Retreat to hear the sparkle of Les Songes up close. Musique Royale is thrilled to present Les Songes as they tour the Maritimes with Debut Atlantic. Make sure to reserve in advance, and read on for details on the artists’ international careers.

Samantha Louis-Jean, soprano

The Canadian and French soprano Samantha Louis‐Jean received her vocal training at the Maîtrise de Radio-­France, the University of Montreal, then with Marie Daveluy and Yolande Parent. She made her professional debut singing Euridice (Monteverdi, L’Orfeo) with the Montreal Baroque Festical and Lauretta (Puccini, Gianni Schicchi) with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra.

Since then, she has performed with the Portland Trinity Consort, the Orford Festival, the Ensemble Caprice, the Lamèque International Baroque Festival, Clavecin en Concert, the Ensemble Masques, Les Violons du Roy and the Quebec Opera Festival.

In 2015-2016, Samantha was selected for the Handel Residency at the Festival Internation d’Aix-en-Provence conducted by Emmanuelle Haïm. She then performed at the Montpellier Opera, the Festival des Lumières de Sorèze and the Nuits Musicales d’Uzès with Ensemble les Ombres; and sang the role of Elvira (Rossini, L’Italiana in Algeri) at the Tourcoing Lyric Atelier and the Champs­‐Élysées Theatre, conducted by Jean-Claude Malgoire.

In 2016-2017, she will perform at the Comédie de St-­Étienne, the Aix-­en-­Provence Festival, the Tourcoing Lyric Atelier and the Champs-­Élysées Theatre.

Samantha Louis­‐Jean is a winner of the Froville International Baroque Competition, the Prix d’Europe Competition, the Lyndon-­Woodside Oratorio Society of New York Competition and the Jacqueline Desmarais Foundation. She is a grant recipient of the Conseildes Arts et des Lettres du Québec, the Canada Council of the Arts and the Jeunesses Musicales du Canada.

Vincent Lauzer, Recorder

Révélation Radio­‐Canada 2013-­‐2014 and Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2012 Opus Awards, recorder player Vincent Lauzer is the artistic director of the Lamèque Internation Baroque Festival in New Brunswick. Winner of several prizes in nation and international competitions, he has recently been awarded the Fernand Lindsay Career Award, a scholarship given to a young promising Canadian musician for the development of an international career.

A versatile performer, he plays with Flûte Alors!, Les Songes, the Pacific Baroque Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, La Bande Montréal Baroque, Les Idées Heureuses, Arion Baroque Orchestra and La Cigale. Vincent has also performed for various series and festivals in Canada and the United States, as well as in Mexico, France, Germany, Spain and Belgium.

Mélisande McNabney, harpsichord

Mélisande McNabney performs keyboard music of all periods, on harpsichord, piano and fortepiano.

In August 2015, she recieved the third prize at the International Competition Musica Antiqua in Bruges, Belguim. A Graduate of McGill University and the Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, Mélisande was granted her Master’s degree from the Amsterdam Conservatory in June 2010, where she studied harpsichord, continuo and fortepiano in the classes of Bob van Asperen and Richard Egarr. She is now pursuing her Doctorate degree at McGill University under the guidance of Hank Knox and Tom Beghin, thanks to the support of the Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program.

Currently based in Montréal, Mélisande is regularly invited to play with ensembles such as Les Violons du Roy, Arion Orchestre Baroque, Les Idées Heureuses, the Theatre of Early Music and Ensembles Caprice. She is also a member of Pallade Musica and ensemble Les Songes, which will be on tour with Jeunesses Musicales Canada in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons.

Mélisande has received scholarships from the Canada Council for the Arts, the Banff Centre, the FQRSC and the CALQ.

Camille Paquette-Roy, baroque cello

Having shown an interest and talent for music at a very early age, cellist Camille Paquette-Roy was admitted to the Music Conservatory of Trois‐Rivières in 1999, where she studied under Jean-Christophe Guelpa for ten years. In 2009, she graduated from the conservatory of Trois­‐Rivières with a Diplôme d’Études Supérieures. In the same year, she began her Master’s degree at McGill University under Brian Manker, which she completed in 2011.

A versatile artist, Paquette-Roy works frequently with a variety of ensembles, including Les Songes, l’Orchestre Baroque Avion, Caprice Ensemble and Quatuor esca. In addition to her activities in the Classical and baroque realms, Paquette-Roy is an active performer in Montréal’s pop music scene with artists such as Ingrid St-Pierre, Jean Leloup and Half Moon Run.