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BiographiesFrancesca Gagnon
Benoit Groulx, music director
Jorge Calandrelli, arranger
Michael Riotto, lighting director
Marion J Caffey, stage director
VOA Productions
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FRANCESCA GAGNON
As a child, growing up in Québec, Canada Francesca Gagnon already had musical inclinations, beginning her studies of piano and jazz-ballet at the age of 10. A few years later, while singing Brel, Piaf and Vigneault songs on stage, she realized she had a passion for performing.
In 1980, she moved to Montréal, enrolling in music and classical singing courses at the University of Québec, and later, studied dancing and vocal techniques in New York City. To develop body strength, agility and control, precious assets for her future performances, she studied Hatha Yoga and African dance classes. Francesca began appearing on television and as a soloist in theatres and festivals and records her first album for EMI that is subsequently nominated for Most Promising Female Vocalist of the Year at the 1986 Juno Awards. One of these songs would climb the charts to No. 1 and sell over 250,000 singles.
In the fall of 1989, following the release of her second album, Francesca headed for Paris. Her unique voice gained her recognition in cafés, cabarets, theatres The simple pleasure of singing live, of letting her bohemian soul express itself by performing anything from rhythm & blues to Piaf or Kurt Weil, earned her the title, a modern realist singer. I love when songs have depth, meaning, and intensity, when they approach the tragic! she claims. During her tours of Morocco, Central Africa and Cameroon, she absorbed the culture, immersing herself in the warm African rhythms and renewed her passion for the discovery of new cultures and new music.
1994 was a pivotal year in the career of Francesca: she became the Voice of Alegria for the Cirque du Soleil production of the same name. Charming and seducing audiences and critics all over the world with her mesmerizing voice and her incredible talent as a performer, the Alegria album remained on the Billboard charts in the U.S. for 56 weeks and climbed to number 1 soundtrack on the Top World Music chart. To date, more than two million copies of Alegriahave been sold worldwide.
She won the hearts of American audiences, performing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and for president Bill Clinton and other celebrities. She later performed in Mexico at the Awards Ceremony and at Royal Albert Hall for Prince Charles.
In 1995, Francesca sang Alegria s title track at the Montréal Jazz Festival for 200,000 people and repeated her performance at the 2004 festival. This second performance, featured on the Cirque du Soleil DVD, Midnight Sun, directed by Michel Lemieux and Victor Pilon, celebrates both the Jazz Festival s 25th Anniversary and the Cirque du Soleil 20th Anniversary. Meanwhile, Francesca finds time to record her solo disc Au-delà des couleurs for BMG France, singing in French, Italian, and Spanish. The recording is nominated at the ADISQ Gala in the World Music category.
Returning from tours on three continents with Cirque du Soleil, absorbing the varied cultures and languages, Francesca works at creating and recording Hybride. Inspired by each language s unique musical tone, Francesca invents her own language. I love using my voice as an instrument , she says. That is why she sings instinctively, bringing emotions, feelings and colors to the melodic canvas. She becomes a musical painter, leaving to her audience to interpret her music in a way that connects with their own imagination, their own soul.
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BENOIT GROULX
Music Director / Arranger
Benoit Groulx, a composer trained in the classical idiom, has worked as an orchestrator on numerous films as well as an arranger on popular and jazz projects, and the 1995 winner of a Félix for Arranger of the Year given by ADISQ (Association québécoise de l'industrie du disque, du spectacle et de la vid o). His original music includes movie scores (An American Haunting, A Sound of Thunder), chamber and orchestral work, jazz and world music. Among his clients are Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, National Film Board of Canada, Orchestre symphonique de Québec, Disques Analekta, Musicor, CBC/Radio-Canada and Cirque du Soleil. For Cirque du Soleil, Benoit was the producer for the recording of the production Corteo, hailed as an oeuvre of rare depth and beauty.
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MICHAEL RIOTTO
Lighting Director
Michael Riotto has been a theatrical lighting designer, director and production manager since 1990 and has worked with Cirque du Soleil, Les 7 doigts de la Main, Cirque Eloize, and Les gens d'R. Currently he is the Principal of Michael Riotto Design, LLC (MRD), an architectural and theatrical design firm based in New York. MRD is committed to finding alternative and sustainable methods of illumination and is actively involved in the design of new fixtures, including LED sources, for both theatrical and architectural applications. |
JORGE CALANDRELLI
Arranger
Jorge Calandrelli won his third Grammy in 2006 with "For Once in my Life" performed by Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder on the legendary chart breaking album Tony Bennett-Duets: An American Classic for which he was Music Director, Arranger and Conductor. His other Grammy awards were in 1999 and 2004 with Yo-Yo Ma. As composer and orchestrator, Jorge Calandrelli has been involved in various television and motion pictures in the United States and Latin America. Among the most outstanding are: Crouching Tiger/Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee); The Color Purple (Steven Spielberg); The Billionaire Boys Club (Marvin Chomsky); Tron (Steven Lisberger) and The Shining (Stanley Kubrik). Most recently Jorge Calandrelli provided orchestral arrangements for Sting's current tour.
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MARION J CAFFEY
Stage Director
Raised in Gainesville, FL, Marion now resides in New Jersey having recently become the Executive Producer of the iconic show, Apollo Amateur Night, produced at the world Famous Apollo Theater in New York City. Marion began his career as a song and dance man in New York in 1981, ultimately performing on Broadway, Off-Broadway and around the world. In 1997, he made a career choice to dedicate his time and talent to conception, directing, producing and writing, eventually creating and directing Street Corner Symphony (Broadway), Cookin' at the Cookery (Off-Broadway), 3 Mo' Tenors and 3 Mo' Divas (PBS & HDNet) and was the original stage director for the Canadian stage hit Bowfire!. On November 13, 2006, he became a part of American history working as Creative Producer/Director of the Ceremonial Groundbreaking for the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial in Washington, DC. When complete, this memorial will honor the only non-president on the Mall in Washington DC. One King among presidents. Marion thanks his family Stephanie, Mari, Dawn, Phyllis and Chris. |
VOA PRODUCTIONS, LLC
VOA PRODUCTIONS, LLC is based in Montréal, Canada and has six partners: Francesca Gagnon, Peter Burnett, Laurelle Favreau, Don Verdery, Eleanor Oldham and John Luckacovic.
Laurelle Favreau and Don Verdery are Directors of GAMI/SIMONDS, formed in 1991 by Canadian based company GAMI and American based company Simonds Management. Its directors sought to strengthen their respective presence in the North American marketplace for its artists. GAMI/Simonds has nurtured and developed the careers of several prominent artists including guitarist Benjamin Verdery, clarinetist James Campbell, jazz flutist/saxophonist Moe Koffman and world music artists Paco Peña and Inti-Illimani. GS also pursues commissions and collaborations for its artists. These have included 'Dizzy and Moe Supershow', Hommage to Debussy (a chamber collective from Canada, the Netherlands and Japan involving musicians and composers), and more recently the premieres of Ingram Marshall's 'Dark Florescence' for classical guitarist Benjamin Verdery and electric guitarist Andy Summers (of The Police) at Carnegie Hall, Allan Gilliland's Jazz Concerto for clarinetist James Campbell with the Edmonton Symphony and the Boston Pops, as well as the creation of symphonic and choral programs with Inti-Illimani. A former violinist and pianist, Laurelle Favreau began her career in film and video production. She joined GAMI in 1983, was named Vice-President in 1986 and in 1987, purchased GAMI from Peter Sever (company founder). Favreau was President of the Canadian Association of Artists' Managers (CAAM) (88-90), a lobby group for the artist management industry; 10 years on the CINARS Board of Directors; and provided Canadian representation for specific attractions including the United Nation All Star Orchestra, Dizzy Gillespie Quintet, the Ninth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition winners and Jon Vickers recital tour. Prior to the formation of Simonds Management in 1986, Don Verdery spent seven years as manager/agent for the Cobble Mountain Band, a country-rock group from the Berkshires that toured throughout the Northeast, Midwest and Southwest. In 1986 the Simonds roster was expanded and included classical soloists and chamber ensembles and in 1985, The Paco Peña Flamenco Company and the Chilean ensemble Inti-Illimani. In addition, from 1986-1991, Don Verdery was the Executive Producer for the D' Addario Foundation for the Performing Arts which presented a classical guitar series in New York City, Washington, Milwaukee and San Francisco.
John Luckacovic spent 19 years with Columbia Artists Management Inc., becoming a vice president and member of CAMI's Board of Directors. In 1995, Eleanor joined the ICM Artists European office in London, where, as second in command of that office, she signed and managed the careers of conductors and instrumentalists. After relocating to New York in 1997, she began to develop new projects and attractions. In 2001, John and Eleanor formed 2Luck Concepts to enable them to continue to seek out, develop and produce unique and engaging projects from around the world. In less than 10 years, among their many projects, they managed the inaugural North American tours of the celebrated George Piper Dances/Ballet Boyz; Akram Khan's Kaash, MA, Sacred Monsters featuring Akram Khan and Sylvie Guillem and In-I featuring Akram and Juliette Binoche; produced and managed the first-ever North American tours of London's Shakespeare's Globe Original Practice productions of Twelfth Night and Measure for Measure followed in 2009 by Love's Labour's Lost; the critically acclaimed inaugural North American tour of Stan Won't Dance in Sinner; the first US touring of the controversial New York contemporary ballet company Cedar Lake; and a 12 week/50 city tour of Moscow's Helikon Opera. Upcoming projects include Shakespeare's Globe Theatre with its fourth US tour, this time featuring their highly acclaimed production of Merry Wives of Windsor; the 60th anniversary tour of Poland's internationally renowned national ensemble MAZOWSZE; Akram Khan's Gnosis and Vertical Road; AnDa Union, a musical folk ensemble from Inner Mongolia; and of course, Francesca Gagnon - The Voice of Alegria with symphony orchestra, celebrating the music of Cirque du Soleil.
photo credit: Victor Diaz Lamich
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