French Catholic students to perform at La Brunante

The musical and artistic talents of Conseil scolaire catholique du Nouvel-Ontario (CSCNO) students will be on display Feb. 20 during the upcoming La Brunante.

Among the three finalists to perform at the concert will be Le Bistro, a band composed of students from Collège Notre-Dame, and Le Jeudi Soir, showcasing the musical talents of students from École secondaire catholique l’Horizon in Val Caron.

The show starts at 7 p.m. at Laurentian University’s Fraser Auditorium.

The Collège Notre-Dame (CND) Le Bistro band has been playing together since 2006, and counts six musicians, all from Sudbury. Le Bistro’s influences are rooted in blues, rock, country and folk, as well as French music.

The band was spearheaded by Renée Dupuis and Mario Taillefer. All of the band members participated in the creation of original funny lyrics and music. Le Bistro is composed of the following students: Patrick Junor, percussion. Alex Cacciotti, bass, Mikale Robitaille, vocals, Patrick Wright, guitar, Gavan Rousseau, piano, and Sébastien St-Cyr, guitar.

Le Jeudi Soir is a four-member rock band composed of students from École secondaire catholique l’Horizon: Cédric Bourgeois (guitar and vocals), Martin St-Amant (guitar), Justin Labelle (percussion) and their most recent member Stefan Brisebois on base.

Influenced by performers like Noir Silence, Éric Lapointe and Stéphane Paquette, the students aim to play quality Francophone music, enjoy themselves and promote their French culture.

“The strong participation of our students in this high level concert shows their desire to develop their Francophone identity and to contribute to the growth of a thriving Franco-Ontarian culture,” said CSCNO director of education Lyse-Anne Papineau, in a press release.

“Proud of their culture and of their Franco-Ontarian roots, these CND and Horizon students are part of the emerging musical scene and take pride in affirming their French Catholic heritage on a musical stage that is so highly prized.”