The first Festival international du texte court de Sherbrooke, held in March 2006, was an outstanding success. And, without a doubt, the passion of its founder had something to do with it. Thierno Souleymane Barry, as well as pursuing a doctorate degree in law at the Université de Sherbrooke, has a profound love of words. This, and his strong sense of initiative, led him to establish a unifying event which focuses on the “short format” in several art forms: literature, music, theatre and painting. His goal? To decompartmentalize artistic disciplines and share the pleasure of writing. The festival’s original concept has attracted over 80 authors from the United States, Ontario and Québec. And the festival’s contest has also largely contributed to enhancing the event’s prestige as some of the 137 texts and poems submitted came from as far away as France, Belgium, South Africa, Senegal, Rwanda and Guinea. The festival aroused considerable interest: more than 2,500 enthusiasts strolled around and took part in literary activities in Sherbrooke’s city centre which was totally revitalized by the event. And this is only the beginning: Thierno plans to establish ties with other cultural gatherings and thus offer the new guard the perfect opportunity to showcase their talent!
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From the classrooms of the École de technologie supérieure (ÉTS) to the main stage of the famous Montréal International Jazz Festival, Turbulence has been progressing at a highly rhythmical pace. The jazz ensemble, made up of 17 future engineers guided by passion, curiosity and rigour, has never ceased to amaze. In 2005 for example, the young musicians organized an innovative concert during which a dozen musical soundtracks from films and television series were performed while video extracts were simultaneously projected. Then, after their triumphant success at the Jazzfest des jeunes du Québec event, Turbulence gave a brilliant performance accompanying Gregory Charles at the benefit concert for the ÉTS Development Fund presented before over 1,000 spectators. It is therefore not surprising that the group ended up on the main stage on Sainte-Catherine Street, sparking the enthusiasm of several thousand jazz fans. It was an opportunity coveted by the masters but this time the engineers stole the show!
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Who ever said engineers weren’t creative? It was definitely not the École Polytechnique de Montréal! Over 15 years ago, the institution set up an amateur theatre committee called Poly-Théâtre. The concept is as simple as it is brilliant: to enable students at the École to act on the stage. It has proven to be a highly appreciated breather for these young students who strive day after day to develop their analytical thinking. Every year, the outstanding actors stage several plays which are attended by up to 2,500 people from both their community and the region. And they have even gained international prestige as, every two years, a team crosses the Atlantic to conquer the stages of major cities in France, Belgium and even Switzerland. And in order to ensure its success, the 30 students on the committee personally oversee all aspects of the production process. Thanks to this artistic endeavour, future engineers can nourish their passion for the theatre and develop their creative abilities. Their talents have now taken centre stage and will undoubtedly be an asset to their future careers!
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