Zoé Jean-Deslauriers

Short Bio:

Zoé Jean-Deslauriers is a singer-songwriter who divides her time between Percé and Montreal. Her ever-evolving musical world is rooted in her love for Quebecois song, folk, pop, and jazz.

Long Bio:

Zoé Jean-Deslauriers is a singer-songwriter who, dividing her time between Percé and Montreal, draws inspiration from the Gaspé landscapes, the vibrant energy of downtown, and the echo of her own intense emotions. She graduated from the Vincent-d’Indy School of Music in Jazz Vocal Performance (2017) and from McGill University in Jazz Voice Performance (2021), where she studied with Ranee Lee, Sienna Dahlen, Carlos Jiménez, and Marjorie Fiset, among others. During her studies, she also received several scholarships, including the Grace Evelyn Turtle Scholarship from McGill University, and graduated with Distinction and Outstanding Performance in Jazz Voice.

In 2019, Zoé released her first song, "Lointains souvenirs" (Distant Memories), inspired by her vacation memories in the Gaspé Peninsula. Then, thanks in part to support from the CALQ (Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec) and Musicaction, Zoé released her second single, "Au gré des eaux" (At the Mercy of the Waters), in July 2022, the title track of her debut EP, also titled "Au gré des eaux," which was released in August 2022. The EP features contributions from her two mentors, Carlos Jiménez on guitar and Marjorie Fiset, who co-produced and contributed additional vocals. Thanks to this EP, Zoé and her band had the opportunity to perform at several venues, including the Vieille Usine in Anse-à-Beaufils, the Toronto Undergraduate Festival, Quai des Brumes, and Verre Bouteille. Au gré des eaux was appreciated by several big names in the jazz scene, including Stanley Péan (Quand le jazz est là, ICI Musique) and Laila Biali (jazz singer and host of Saturday Night Jazz on CBC Music), who played tracks from the EP on their radio stations on several occasions.

Over the years, Zoé has had the chance to perform throughout Quebec with her band, but also performs frequently as a solo artist (piano/vocals) in the Percé area of ​​the Gaspé Peninsula (including for the Desjardins evenings at the Festival de musique du Bout du Monde). In 2024, she had the opportunity to open for Luc De Larochelière at the Vieille Usine in Anse-à-Beaufils, as well as for Maude Cyr-Deschênes at the Village en chanson in Petite-Vallée.

In 2025, Zoé received the Cap Art Nature Prize and the Culture Gaspésie Performing Arts Grant. She is also a finalist for the 2025 Télé-Québec Emerging Talent Award. A big fan of ensemble singing, Zoé has also been a member of several choirs, including the Orchestre Philharmonique et Chœur des Mélomanes, the Chœur FILMharmonique (which participated in the Lord of the Rings in Concert show), and the McCarthey Symphonique choir in 2022. Since 2024, Zoé has shared her love of choral singing by assisting choir director Mathilde Côté with the Petite école de la chanson de Petite-Vallée project. There, she writes arrangements, rehearses second voices during the Rencontres chantantes (Singing Encounters), and more.

In addition to her career as a singer-songwriter, choir member, and musician, Zoé has been teaching singing and piano since 2018. With technical training from Estil Voice Training, Zoé teaches singers of all ages and backgrounds. Among other things, she directed the first vocal ensemble at the Conservatoire de musique de la Montérégie, and she is currently working with the Petite école de la chanson de Petite-Vallée.

Marianne Trudel

Marianne Trudel is a pianist, composer, improviser, conductor, and arranger. Passionate about creation, nature, and people, she is enthralled by life itself! A generous and engaging artist, a true dynamo on the Quebec and Canadian instrumental music scene, she has repeatedly demonstrated her talents and keen sense of creativity. Her music, which transports and moves, defies categorization, which is one of its strengths: poetic and audacious, sophisticated and captivating, authentic and unique, it reflects her open-minded perspective on the infinite universe of music.

Energetic and prolific, Marianne pursues a very active career, both here and abroad, performing solo, in small ensembles, and with orchestras. She has presented her music in many countries around the world, always received with great enthusiasm by the public and critics: Canada, United States, Mexico, France, Spain, Germany, England, Scotland, Italy, Hungary, Lithuania, Netherlands and China. Recipient of numerous awards and accolades, including the 2025 Michel Donato Prize (Mont-Tremblant Jazz Festival) for her outstanding contribution to the development of jazz in Canada, the 2024 Opus Prize for Composer of the Year (Quebec Music Council), the 2024 Opus Prize for Jazz Album of the Year, the 2023 CALQ Prize for Artist of the Year (Quebec Arts and Letters Council – Laval), and the 2023 Opus Prize for Jazz Concert of the Year, she has released 10 albums of original works as a leader, all of which have garnered critical acclaim (FINALISTS for JUNO Awards, ADISQ Awards, and the Opus Prize).

Driven by composition, and enamored with large ensembles and the pooling of strengths and energies, she has composed for orchestras and choirs such as: Les Violons du Roy (Quebec), the American Composers Orchestra (New York), the Henri Mancini Institute Orchestra (Los Angeles), the Guelph Symphony Orchestra, the Montreal National Jazz Orchestra, the Hard Rubber Orchestra (Vancouver), the Canadian National Jazz Orchestra, the Kingston Choral Society, and the Chorale du Gesù (Montreal).

Among the internationally renowned artists and orchestras with whom Marianne Trudel has had the pleasure of sharing the stage are: Charles Aznavour, Chucho Valdés, Kenny Wheeler, Ingrid Jensen, John Hollenbeck, Tony Malaby, Dave Liebman, William Parker, Mark Feldman, Hamid Drake, François Houle, Joséphine Bacon, Klo Pelgag, Lena Chamamyan, Farida, Naseer Shamma, Charbel Rouhana, Juan Carlos Cáceres, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Les Violons du Roy, and the Orchestre Métropolitain. In 2023, she made a notable appearance in Richard Desjardins' documentary film "Chip, Chip: Chopin by Desjardins."

Marianne Trudel's academic background includes studies in classical piano (Conservatoire de musique de Québec), a DEC in classical piano (Cégep de Sainte-Foy), a DEC in jazz arrangement (Cégep de Saint-Laurent), a bachelor's degree in jazz piano (McGill University), a master's degree in ethnomusicology (Université de Montréal), and doctoral studies in composition (Université de Montréal).

Marianne currently teaches at the Schulich School of Music (McGill University) and at Cégep de Saint-Laurent.