One is a pianist, the other a guitarist. She comes from Fredericton, he comes from Grand Falls. A priori, Adèle LeBlanc and Cédric Thériault have little in common, apart from their all-consuming passion for music. Yet the two musicians, both in their early twenties, share much more than their musical appeal.
In residence this week as part of the Musique sur mer en Acadie festival-event, Adèle LeBlanc and Cédric Thériault display an unequivocal complicity when we meet them by video on Thursday. On the one hand, the two friends both talk about the “fantastic and exceptional” acoustics offered by the church of Saint-Simon (not far from Caraquet), their working and training environment for the week and where they will perform in concert on Sunday at 2 p.m.
But that’s not all. The two know each other well – notably thanks to the Université de Moncton, where they each completed their bachelor’s degrees at the same time in their respective disciplines – and have already had the opportunity to play together in recent years. Although the two friends are now separated by the distance inherent in their studies – Cédric is studying in Toronto, while Adèle is pursuing, like her sidekick, her master’s degree in Dallas, Texas – they do not hide their joy at being together these days in the Acadian Peninsula.
“Adèle is a great musician who I am really proud to work with,” says Cédric Thériault.
“Same thing on my side,” adds Adèle LeBlanc. “We share the same musicality. We help each other and we draw inspiration from the way we play our respective instruments. I can sometimes try to imitate the guitar in my way of playing the piano. Even if we have different instruments, our goal together is to make beautiful music.”
Adèle LeBlanc discovered the piano at the age of 10.
“My parents are not musicians. They bought a piano by chance and I quickly took a liking to playing it. Then I started taking lessons. It wasn’t serious at first, but at the age of 16, I started taking piano lessons with Roger Lord at the University of Moncton. The rest followed afterward. From the beginning, I really liked it, but I didn’t necessarily know that this was what I was going to do later. But today, I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
Cédric Thériault, for his part, took up the guitar for the first time around the age of 8. Before specializing in classical guitar, the young man was rather attracted to much more abrasive music, which he has not completely abandoned.
“My father was a big music lover. I got my first guitar – electric – at 8 years old and my grandparents were really supportive of that. My first piece I learned was a metal song. At 13, I started taking classical guitar lessons with Bruno-Jacques Pelletier in Edmundston. When I was in 8th grade, the University of Moncton conducted a recruiting tour at my high school. Around the same time, one of my friends completed his master’s degree in music at the University of Montreal. Looking at all this, I said to myself, ‘ok yeah, that’s what I want to do’.”
Although students in two different institutions, Adèle LeBlanc and Cédric Thériault both hope to have large-scale careers, like their mentor, Carl Philippe Gionet, in addition to in turn teaching their knowledge to others students.
For now, the pianist and guitarist are fine-tuning their Sunday concert in which they will separately perform works by Beethoven (the Piano Sonata no.16 in G major, opus 31 no.1) as well as some danceable pieces by Ginastera, as well as tunes by Bach, Marais, Couperin in addition to a contemporary work for guitar by Yuri Smirnov.
In addition to being in residence this week at the Saint-Simon church under the aegis of Carl Philippe Gionet and Musique sur mer en Acadie, Cédric Thériault and Adèle LeBlanc will perform in concert there on Sunday at 2 p.m. – Courtesy: Carl Philippe Gionet
A real joy”
Obviously, we wanted to know what Carl Philippe Gionet thought of his two young protégés. The pianist-mentor from Caraquet with a flourishing international career is full of praise for Adèle and Cédric, whom he also met while he was teaching at the Université de Moncton around 2020.
“It’s an expression that we often use, which is a bit hackneyed, but here, it’s irrefutable: it’s a real pleasure to work with them. They are two truly open artists with something to say, with technical means that are truly above average. They truly communicate; it’s captivating!”
Although, like Adèle LeBlanc, Carl Philippe Gionet manipulates the same instrument and is therefore less familiar with the classical guitar, his experience as a trainer and seasoned musician ensures that the two residents of Musique sur mer en Acadie can benefit from the same expertise and draw valuable lessons that will perfect their art for their next concerts. This is confirmed by Cédric Thériault.
“I have been collaborating with Carl for several years and he invited me to Musique sur mer in Acadie and each time, it provokes a rebirth in me. He always helped me musically; he makes me see things in a different way. Then Carl is so generous, so kind. I am truly blessed to have the chance to be alongside him, who wants to help me and help the next generation of musicians.”
Carl Philippe Gionet, who also visited numerous summer training camps when he was a very young shoot, believes for his part that such residencies as Musique sur mer en Acadie and others are essential for any musician wanting to deepen their knowledge his musicality in the hope of performing on big stages.
“Often, students at this stage are very concerned with their technique, their performance, and very little with the communication aspect or the feeling of the works. This is partly due to the way university teaching programs are constructed. We don’t always have the leisure to give importance to this second aspect because there are time constraints, there are group constraints, there are a lot of people, we have to move forward, the year has to pass. But these are things that we can do precisely during the summer in residency situations like the ones we are doing now. We can really delve into these aspects, which is what makes the difference between a good musician and an accomplished artist in every way.”
People will be able to attend the concert by Adèle LeBlanc and Cédric Thériault for free or for a voluntary contribution.
