Among the Quebecers - 13

 
WILFRID PELLETIER (1896-1982), a name with which Nana is very familiar. Indeed, she performed over a hundred times in the main hall of the Place des Arts complex baptised in his honor. The one who was called the music master had a brilliant career. He worked with the greatest performers of the time. From 1917 to 1950 he was conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. In our homeland, he greatly contributed to the promotion of music and has been artistic director of Quebec and Montreal symphony orchestras.
OSCAR PETERSON (1924-2007) was a brilliant jazz pianist known as "the Brown Bomber of the Boogie-Woogie". Born in Montreal of West Indian parents, he performed in several cabarets of the metropolis in the 40’s, before starting an international career. Nana hosted him in her variety show on the BBC in 1972 and sang with him at the piano "Every time we say goodbye".

The artistic life of ISABELLE PIERRE (1944- ) stretched from 1963 to 1974. During that era which marked Quebec's cultural awakening, she sang on television and in the cabarets, then she recorded five albums. It was in 1969, during an interview for her radio program "Samedi jeunesse" that she met Nana.
JEAN-GUY PRINCE is a lyricist renowned for the beauty of his texts written in universal French. He especially collaborated with young Quebec performers. Nana owes him the French lyrics of Roch Voisine’s song "Waiting" which became "Dix mille ans encore".

Born in Halifax, PETER PRINGLE (1945- ) is one of the rare Canadian singers to make career in the two official Languages. After having lived in Toronto during several years, he settled in Montreal. Thanks to his great popularity in Quebec in the eighties, he animated his own TV show which enabled him to carry out the dream of singing with Nana. In 1996, after twenty years of career, he gave up singing to devote himself to the theremin, an electronic instrument. People did not discover yet everything from this talented artist. Beyond the singer and the songwriter, there is the actor, the polyglot host and the one-man band who plays ten instruments.
FRANCIS REDDY (1958- ) has an impressive roadmap. Since the TV viewers discovered him in 1984, he incarnated a multitude of roles in various series and in movies. He also showed his ability as host, especially during "Téléthon Enfant Soleil", where he met Nana in 1992. In spite of the years, he knew to preserve a young image and to remain close to people.

The one that we consider as an exclusive singer from here made a career’s debut in the United States and had success in France. At a certain time, GINETTE RENO (1946- ) was also a regular performer at Place of Arts and ran during weeks. Extraverted and sure of herself, her philosophy is to give her audience a show. During the two last decades, she diversified her artistic activities while taking part in various films. Nana and Ginette have 24 songs in common and they sang with the same partners: Boulanger, Ferland and Legrand.


MAURICE RICHARD, known as ROCKET (1921-2000), was a professional ice hockey player who defended the banner of the Montreal Canadiens from 1942 to 1960. He established several records of which being the first player to mark 50 goals in 50 games. The hockey player with the fire emanating from his eyes captivated the fans by his determination and his intensity on the ice. Beyond the sport, he was a source of inspiration, the symbol of the success and the revenge of a Quebec society then dominated politically and economically by Anglophone interests. The riot of March 13, 1955 showed how much the Quebecers identified with him. Even after his retirement, the Rocket remained a public character to whom many tributes have been paid. Nowadays, we still talk about his exploits. In 1990, for a TV special, Nana sang a song to him whereas he was alone in the huge Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier.

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