He completed his university studies in 2002. A consistent, demanding and ardent musician, he is Principal Trumpet of the Orchestre symphonique de Drummondville and a regular member of the Orchestre symphonique du Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean. Additionally, he performs occasionally with several ensembles throughout Quebec such as the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and the Orchestre Métropolitain as well as with the Laval, Longueuil, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières symphony orchestras.

Frédéric had never considered a career in chamber music until Sylvain Lapointe crossed his path and offered him the role of Musical Director and Principal Trumpet for the Buzz project. Not only did Frédéric very enthusiastically accept, but he also brought his musicality and sense of rigour to the project.

EDUCATION

Bachelor’s degree in Classical Performance, under Jean-Luc Gagnon
Bachelor’s degree in Jazz Performance, under Ron Di Lauro
Faculty of Music, Université de Montréal

Founder and Artistic Director

Sylvain Lapointe has a passion for chamber music that he acquired during his high school studies and that inspired him to form his first brass quintet at the age of 15. While attending college and university, he put together an ensemble which first won fame at the prestigious Cégeps en spectacle student contest before giving more than one hundred performances in the province of Quebec as well as in France and Belgium.

In 2002, after completing his university studies in music, he founded the Buzz ensemble and put forward an original concept combining theatre and music. With his ensemble, Sylvain Lapointe has presented over 500 concerts and musitheatrical shows in Eastern Canada, reaching over 100,000 spectators. In 2007, he was awarded the “Production of the Year—Young Audiences” OPUS prize for the show UnBUZZlievable! The History of Music, that he wrote and directed.

EDUCATION

Master’s degree in Performance
Conservatoire de musique de Montréal, under Jean Gaudreault

A diligent musician, he participated in several concerts broadcasted on radio and television, both as part of chamber music ensembles and as part of orchestras, including the Orchestre symphonique de Trois-Rivières.

Jason De Carufel has been a trombonist with the Canadian Armed Forces since 2001, which has given him the opportunity to familiarize himself with different styles of music. He is also involved with two productions of L’Arsenal à Musique, which have taken him across Canada and the United States to perform shows geared to children.

Bachelor’s degree in Performance
Faculty of Music, Université de Montréal, under Albert Devito and Robert Ellis

Set Construction and Design Coordinator (young audience section)

It was a twist in Sylvain Arseneau’s diversified and winding trail that guided him to Buzz in 2002, and led him to his true path. It was a new and great challenge for Sylvain, since the bass line, traditionally written for the tuba, was henceforth to be played by the bass trombone—which meant resorting to a certain degree of ingenuity for the fingering technique of the tuba’s valves to be transcended by the skillful handling of the trombone’s slide. Drawing on his experience playing in several renowned big bands as well as on his classical training, Sylvain has demonstrated both versatility and musicality in his role with Buzz.

Studies at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec
Internships and private study in drama

Stage Director

Since his studies at the Conservatoire d’art dramatique de Québec, Guillaume Lapierre-Desnoyers has contributed to the development and production of many artistic projects. By lending his ideas, voice, precise body movements and astonishing ability to mimic a multitude of colourful characters, he has taken part in several theatrical productions both as an author and as an actor. At first, he concentrated on experimental theatre productions. Soufre was a marking experience, since in addition to playing a lead role, he was also its co-author. He was also involved in the world of improvisational theatre for seven years as a star player and as a trainer, both at Collège de Maisonneuve and at Université du Québec à Montréal, which allowed him to experiment with different theatrical approaches. Additionally, his stint at the Théâtre de la Source introduced him to theatre for young audiences.

In 2002, he joined Buzz to create a musitheatrical show for younger audiences. He found himself playing the role of the storyteller while also serving as stage director. It is quite a challenge to tell a story as a theatrical play while integrating a brass quintet! He was also responsible for the direction of a second musitheatrical show, namely on the history of music. After several years of rehearsing, presenting and fine-tuning these two shows, he discovered he had a real interest for interdisciplinarity. He has given himself the challenge of reinventing theatre and of making chamber music more accessible by creating a new synergy between these two worlds.