Thanks to a grant from the Government of Quebec’s Young Volunteers program, and months of hard work, the young artist’s first album was officially launched on Sept. 30.

Responsible for the entire development process and deployment of her work, Girard now travels to theatres in Greater Montreal, to the delight of the Quebec public.

Journey

Girard made her debut in music by singing in a choir, then in musical comedy at Georges-Vanier high school in Duvernay. She continued to gain experience by attending Cégep Marie-Victorin, and McGill University in jazz singing.

In addition to pursuing her musical career, the young woman is a music teacher, and works in the restaurant industry.

For Some Reason

The album has 13 songs and is titled like of of them. When asked why that name, Girard said “the album reflects [her] life”.

“I think we do things for some reason,” Girard said. “We don’t know how things will be received, what will happen, but we have to get started.”

The song also represents well the particular style of the artist because of the significant contrasts between the sections.

Highly influenced by United Kingdom’s (UK) jazz, Girard is also inspired by several aspects of her life when composing her melodies.

Language

Although Girard’s mother tongue is French, most of the songs of her first album are in English. Some are also bilingual, while her favourite melody is in French.

In addition to the fact the international fanbase mainly speaks English, that language also allows her to go further into introspection.

“[Performing in English] allows me to put myself in a bubble,” confessed the singer. “Sometimes, I find French very close to me. When I sing in French, I feel more exposed.”

Engaged Music

The Laval native’s goal isn’t necessarily to create committed music, but, because of her experience, several pieces are nonetheless.

It’s the case of the song “Graceful Earth”, which sends a very clear message related to climate change. In that song, the artist thanks the Earth, and apologizes for everything humans are doing to it.

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L’article A Laval Artist launches her First Jazz Album est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

Most of the medalists were participants of the 55^e Finale des Jeux du Québec – Laval 2022 (Quebec Games). That evening also made it possible to recognize the dedication of all organizers of the event.

“They’ve worked for more than three years to brilliantly welcome sports delegations from all regions of the province, and promote our municipality,” said member of the executive committee and responsible for leisure and sports files at the City of Laval, Nicholas Borne, by press release.

Members of the board of directors and organizing committee of the provincial competition received a personalized gift during this evening.

For their part, the young athletes of the 22 sports disciplines of the Quebec Games were honoured. Nine gold medals (international level) were awarded, followed by 15 silver (national level) and 82 bronze (provincial level).

Pierre-Marchand Prize

The Pierre-Marchand prize was awarded to triathlete Émile Pichette.

Pichette tried triathlon for the first time in 2021 to keep in shape for the alpine ski season, despite the pandemic. During that first summer, he participated in two triathlons, without obtaining performances comparable to those he reached on the ski slopes.

“He remained motivated, and his perseverance finally allowed him to qualify for the Quebec Games in 2022, after having reached the standards of the three triathlon disciplines,” specified the City. “His evolution continued during those Games, when he obtained a better result than what he had achieved in the Laval triathlon.”

Pichette also participated in four competitions during the summer, finishing with a second place in his last triathlon, in Valleyfield.

Alexandre-Despatie Scholarship

The Alexandre-Despatie scholarship, aimed at rewarding a high-level athlete, whose commitment and performance are directly linked to the City of Laval’s Physical Activity Policy, was awarded to boxer Marie-Bathoul Al- Ahmadieh.

In addition to being a provincial champion, the Laval resident was selected to represent the national junior boxing team on several occasions.

In recent months, she has won a gold medal with Team Canada at the Brandenburg Box Cup, in Germany, in addition to being named Boxer of the Tournament.

Winner of the silver medal at the Golden Girl Boxing Championship, in Sweden, she also repeated the feat at the Bornemissza Memorial Tournament, presented in Hungary.

Still on the rise, Al-Ahmadieh currently ranks first in the Canadian rankings, in the Women Jr, 57 kg category. (N.P.)

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L’article 106 Medalists at the 64th Mérite sportif lavallois est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

A manufacturer of kayaks and other water sports equipment, Pelican was one of the 12 winners honoured at the 30th edition of the Salon sur les meilleures pratiques d’affaires, held on Nov. 24 at the Palais des congrès de Montréal. The Laval company thus earned a regional distinction, at the Prix performance Québec (PPQ).

Entrepreneurship Model

“It represents an exceptional entrepreneurship model, contributing to the economic influence of our region,” said the Minister of Economy, and Regional Minister of Laval, Christopher Skeete.

Skeete obviously praised the “ambition”, and the “desire for surpassing” of each of the winning companies, which “make them true models for our ecosystem of entrepreneurship”.

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L’article Pélican international Among the Best est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

The show was presented in three parts, with The Standstills and The Warning performing the first and second part of the concert, respectively.

Three Days Grace is well-known for songs like “I Hate Everything About Yout”, “Animal I Have Become”, “Never Too Late”, “Pain”, and “Break”.

The Standstills

For the band The Standstills, touring with Three Days Grace is a great opportunity to perform some songs from its new album “Shockwave”.

Singer Jonny Fox said the shows have been incredible so far.

“For us, it’s really nice to bring those songs to live on stage,” Fox said. “We’re seeing a lot of people connecting with them, which is amazing.”

The singer also added that you never really know what kind of experience you’re going to live when touring in Canada during winter.

“It’s been crazy,” he laughed. “We’ve been battling against early winter weather. However, I think it kind of makes the show a little more intense because of the storms between the performances. I’ve never seen crowds that loud before.”

Fox couldn’t point out at one favourite song from the new album. However, he laughed that the ones his band had the most fun creating were probably those that didn’t make the cut.

“Each song has a story behind it’s creation process, ” he said. “For ‘Motherlode’, we collaborated with a friend. For ‘Back To You’, that song was a last-minute thing in the studio, and it was very special that we were able to pull out something.”

While it wasn’t the first time in the province, last night’s show was The Standstills’s first in Laval.

L’article The Standstills Starts The Show at Place Bell est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.

Arrived from France to study at the University of Montreal, the current head coach of the FC Laval had joined the team of that same university. He also played in senior AAA, which was the highest level in the province at the time.

His strong performance on the field earned him the title of Canadian University Player of the Year. Later, he joined the Trois-Rivières Attak, the defunct Montreal Impact (CF Montreal) academy club, with which he was crowned Canadian Soccer League champion in the role of captain.

He then retired to start his career on the sidelines, becoming assistant coach with the University of Montreal Carabins.

Local Development

Shortly after his start in coaching, Coulibaly was approached by Marinos Papageorgopoulos, current manager of the CF Montreal Academy, who managed the former club of Chomedey. This was part of the merger leading FC Laval’s creation.

“He brought me to work with the 2002–03 group,” Coulibaly explained.”I had the chance to work as I wanted, and to have complete trust in what I was doing. We took our time.”

He admits the results weren’t always there at first.

“Results weren’t fantastic, but the youngsters have to learn how to lose games,” he said. “It’s necessary, and it pays off when you’re taking the time, and let young athletes develop.”

That age group’s also an integral part of the title won this summer by the FC Laval, in the men’s section of the Première ligue de soccer du Québec.

“They’re young people with whom I have had the chance to work since they were 11 or 12 years old,

“These are young people with whom I have had the chance to work since they were 11 or 12 years old,” Coulibaly said. “If we’re looking at the reserve team, they’re second in their league. They’re young athletes who are extremely solid mentally, and it turned out as we hoped.”

Collaboration

In addition to working with the younger players, Coulibaly continued to coach with the Carabins for a few seasons, winning two university championships.

It allowed him to rub shoulders with certain players, such as Wandrille Lefebvre, who is part of the champion edition of the FC Laval.

He is now 100 per cent focused on the performance of Laval’s team, while continuing his work with the Carabins. He believes the success of his project is linked to his collaboration with the players.

“I know I wasn’t always easy to manage as a player, because I had in mind what I wanted to do,” he admitted, laughing. “Today, it reflects on my way of coaching. The players want to be in charge of the project in the same way as the coaches. That’s the vision that I try to put in place by including everyone in the process.”

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L’article Boubacar Coulibaly: The Man Behind FC Laval’s Success est apparu en premier sur Courrier Laval news.