At $20,000 to $30,000, many people would be tempted to buy a new vehicle, pool, state-of-the-art spa, or jewelry. Instead, composer and instrument designer Sylvain Grenier decided to rent the Théâtre Plaza on the sidelines of COP15 for four days to present his own environmental show…at his own expense!
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When Mr. Grenier found out last June that the Conference on Biodiversity (COP15) would be held in Montreal, he jumped on the phone.
“I wasn’t sure if I could perform directly at the convention site at the Palais des Congrès, but I could host and organize my own show for the cause. »
The ecologically passionate musician does not give an exact figure, but the sum of his personal expenses for his show Biodiversity in Music fluctuates between 20,000 and 30,000 dollars.
You have to pay for the room, technicians, musicians, etc.
“I reached into my woolen stocking! »
“It’s the show of a lifetime, it’s now or never for humanity to take care of biodiversity,” said the 59-year-old percussionist, whom I met on the Plaza stage during an “a” rerun.
Photo Louis Philippe Messier
Cans of maple syrup serve as resonators under the sound blades.
Opportunity not to be missed
Twist of fate: Mr. Grenier had just won a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts to compose songs about biodiversity when he found out that the international biodiversity fair would be held here.
“If the COP15 for Biodiversity had invited me to China, I would not have hesitated to spend a lot of money to go there with my instruments … And there, fortunately, it happens here . It’s in Montreal where it happens. I didn’t want to miss that. »
“Xylhockey”
You probably noticed when you saw the photo: the Star Instruments from Mr. Grenier’s show, created by him, are “xylhockeys”: giant xylophones made from hockey sticks and maple syrup cans, some welded together, as resonators.
It’s hard to symbolically make more “Quebec”!
Sylvain Grenier’s group is called SCRAP, an acronym for Show Concept for Recovery and the Art of Percussion.
“I bought dozens of broken blade koho sticks at an arena and trimmed and planed them to make them thinner. »
The fiberglass that strengthens these sticks conducts sound, adding crystal clear tone.
The result is surprising… perfect. This Frankenstein instrument turns out to be harmonious. Blindfolded you would never know that mallet hits “Koho sticks” as musical blades.
“It’s fun for hundreds of hours to tune the instrument, but then it’s professional quality: you can play any orchestral instrument. »
In addition to his Xylhockey, Sylvain Grenier has designed a “Xylhockey Bass” with much lower tones.
Photo Louis Philippe Messier
Percussionist Léo Guiollot in front of “Bass Xylhockey”.
65 gallon metal drums were converted to sound boxes. Silver spoons tied to a pole make a chime. A squash racket with strings passing through old keys is a tambourine.
- The show Biodiversity in music will be performed on Saturday, December 10 at 8 p.m. in the Théâtre Plaza. A portion of the funds goes to the David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace and Équiterre.