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Artists |  | | David Veslocki - Francesca Gagnon
(photo: Jeff Knee, Capturimage.com) |
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|  | | | (photo: Jeff Knee, Capturimage.com) |
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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|  | | | (photo: Jeff Knee, Capturimage.com) |
DAVID VESLOCKI
Guitar
New York City guitarist David Veslocki has been heard on ABC, BBC, Animal Planet, Universal Music Killer Tracks, HBO. He has xperformed in some of the greatest halls in the world; Avery Fisher Hall, Kilbourne Hall, The Eastman Theatre, The 92nd Street Y, the Bushnell, South Korea's Woodbridge Music Hall. Davbid is an endorsee of Parker Guitars, D’adarrio strings, and Blackbird Guitars. David tours regularily to the UK, Europe, South Korea, and throughout the United States, and has shared the stage with Derek Trucks, The Average White Band, Clark Terry, and several Disney Artists. David’s original composition and production A Better Life, co-written with Courtney Drummey, appeared on a benefit album for Connecticut Foster Children alongside star Jamie Fox. David has studied with some of the finest guitarists in the world including Benjamin Verdery and Nicholas Goluses as well as countless legendary guitarists in masterclass including David Leisner, Sharon Isbin, and Elliot Fisk. David is the winner of the Elliot Fisk Award, three Downbeat Magazine Awards, and the Hartford Jazz Society Award. David has gathered a good deal of world premiers, including Pete Wier’s 10,000 Cranes, Ricardo Muldoon’s Guitango, and Shingo Fujii’s Concerto De Los Angeles. His symphonic appearances have included the Rochester Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Americas, and the Hartford Symphony. David attended Yale University’s School of Music (full scholarship), and is the only guitarist to have graduated with both a degree in Classical and Jazz performance from the prestigious Eastman School of Music (also on full scholarship). David teaches guitar and recording at Concordia Conservatory, and the 92nd Street Y in New York, and is the co founder of Guitar Ambassadors LLC.
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