Ménestrel

Janelle Lucyk (vocals, violin) and Kerry Bursey (vocals, lute) are part of a new generation of artists specializing in early and folk music, implementing their musical projects from conception to performance. Janelle began her career in 2014 as a soloist in opera and with prestigious early and baroque ensembles (Kings College Chapel Choir, Brussels Chamber Choir, Musica Fura, Laudantes Consort). Her angelic and expressive voice has earned her numerous prizes and awards. Kerry Bursey is a tenor and plucked string instrumentalist whose musicality and voice are distinguished by their luminous qualities. As a renowned lutenist, he also dedicates himself to the rare practice of self-accompaniment in early and folk music. They founded Ensemble Ménestrel in 2019.

The ensemble has performed at the Lanaudière Festival, the Music and Beyond Festival (Ottawa), the Lamèque Early Music Festival (New Brunswick), the Royal Music Summer Festival (Nova Scotia), and the Montreal Baroque Festival. In 2022, Ménestrel produced a production of Handel's Messiah that brought together twenty emerging performers from across Canada for a tour of historic venues in Nova Scotia. Their musical arrangements and performances are admired for their ability to embody the music rather than dominate it.

Janel Lucyk

Janelle Lucyk

Janelle Lucyk is a leading figure in a new generation of Canadian artists specializing in early music and its historically informed performance, bringing ideas from conception to performance. She graduated with distinction from the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, Belgium, where she premiered Lux ​​Aeterna, written for her and the Brussels Chamber Choir by Jan Moeyaert, and founded Voces Desuper, an ensemble that has performed in the magnificent Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula and at the Te Deum ceremony for the King of Belgium. She holds a Master of Arts in Management from Durham University (UK) and was awarded the role of Susanna in Durham Opera's The Marriage of Figaro, for which she received the Music Durham Award for Best Soloist.

Janelle is the artistic and administrative director of Musique Royale, a music presenter based in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, that enriches the historic spaces of this spectacular Maritime province by sharing early music and more. She performs across Canada in festivals and with ensembles such as Per Sonatori, Theatre of Early Music, Ménestrel, Aureas Voces, and Ensemble Caprice. She has been a soloist in unforgettable performances of Baroque masterpieces under the direction of five-time Grammy Award-winning conductor Paul Halley.

Kerry Bursey is a tenor and plucked string instrumentalist from Montreal, active in the early music scene in Canada and abroad. His voice is prized for its precise and luminous quality, and he is a sought-after lutenist and guitarist who has dedicated himself to the unusual practice of self-accompaniment in early and folk music from the traditions of the Northwest.

Kerry Bursey

Kerry Bursey

Kerry works with Canadian early music ensembles such as L'Harmonie des Saisons, the Studio de Musique Ancienne de Montréal, Ensemble Caprice, the Theatre of Early Music, Arion Baroque Orchestra, Les Idées Heureuses, La Nef, La Chapelle de Québec, Alkemia, and Clavecin en Concert. He participated in the Baroque Summer Institute at Tafelmusik and specialized in the music of J.S. Bach in Germany and Italy through the Stuttgart Bach Academy and the Weimar Bach Academy. In addition to being a soloist, he is an accomplished ensemble vocalist who regularly sings with groups such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre Métropolitain, Les Rugissants, I Musici, Ensemble Vocal Arts-Québec, and the Church of St. Andrew & St. Paul Choir. He has appeared on nearly a dozen albums on labels such as ATMA Classique and Deutsche Grammophone. In 2021, he was appointed the new tenor of Quartom, Quebec’s leading male classical vocal quartet.