PIANO
Born into a family of great traditional fiddlers from Ste-Barbe, Quebec, Martine put on her first pair of dancing shoes at the age of four while taking lessons with Serge Mathon. After spending a couple of years with Serge, Martine continued to learn the art of dancing from other notable dancers like Martin Duheme and Gilles Roy. With a strong foundation established from years of hard work, Martine has become one of the most respected young professional Quebec dancer, and puts her talents to work while performed for seven years with Montreal based trio, Rapetipetam, with Pierre Chartrand and Marie-Soleil Pilette, and also with Gilles Roy and The Stepping Ambassadors
Martine credits her father, for introducing her to this rich traditionnal music. Along with her talents as a dancer, Martine also possesses great credentials as a piano player. She had the chance to have a classical piano formation, along with learning to play by EAR with her dad. After studying classical music at Vincent d’Indy College, and receiving her Bachelor of Music from the University of Montreal, Martine has found herself in high demand for both recording and performing engagements with many well-known Canadian artists. Playing mostly for music dancing, in Galas, competitions like The Grand Master Fiddle, she also performed in duo with Andre Brunet for about 4 years and has toured the USA, England, Japan and France with such talents as Ménage à Trois, Manigance and The Pierre Schryer Band, all representing the rich traditionnal music that Canada has to offer.
She also has recorded her first piano solo album that she called Valsons. It’s a nice CD with 17 of her prettiest waltzes compositions. She named all those waltzes for friends and family.
Martine taught stepdance and piano accompaniment in many camps as Goderich Celtic College, Camp Violon Trad Québec and Ashokan Music and Dance Camp. She completed her second Bachelor’s degree at the University of Quebec, in Montreal, a three-year Music Therapy program, and got a Master degree in Music Teaching. She is working as music therapist in two retirement homes in the Lanaudière area and teaching music to adults with mental disorders in a special school.