Complete Bio
Childhood and Adolescence…
What a sense of freedom!
My Guitare, my friend, my confidante…
Chantal was raised in Charlesbourg, a suburb of Quebec City. She is the youngest of four children. As far as she can remember, her mother always loved music and was gifted with a beautiful voice. She even recorded operetta arias prior to her marriage. It was while sitting on her mother’s knees that Chantal first hit the piano keys and began playing, by ear, the music that filled the house. Her older sister listened to the Beatles, Michel Fugain, Jean-Pierre Ferland, DianeDufresne…
The Stage Bug for Life with the Crescendos!
Her brother was a DJ and purchased everything that was hip and happening. Her parents travelle doften and always returned home with a variety of records: Latin music, French songs, jazz, and records of local talent. As time went by, mountains of records began to appear in the Blanchais household… that’s how Chantal came to spend her days revelling in the world that fascinated her so much: the world of music. “I had a happy childhood; I had as much fun playing the piano with my sister as I did playing baseball with my brothers!” As she began her high school career her father decided to repair the old guitar that had forever been hanging on the wall. She took a few courses and composed her very first song, in English, after watching a TV show on troubled teens. But it was only a year later that she really caught the bug when she sang “Stone, le monde est stone”, from Starmania, with the Crescendo choir. “I remember that when the song was over, the audience gave me a spontaneous and resounding standing ovation.”
Moving on to adulthood: choices and university…
At the Old-Port in Quebec City, for Parcs Canada. I learned so much about my city, the most beautiful city in the world!
“To this day, that is what feeds me, to know that the audience was touched, that at the end of a show neither they nor I want to leave!”
But, at the time, no one was making a living through music and since her school grades were good, she decided to pursue a career in sciences at the CEGEP level. “I was good in math but I hated the smell of the chemistry labs. Let’s just say that science and I didn’t mix well. I quickly realized I had lost my way…in fact, I was looking for music, for my home … “The following year, she was accepted in music, with a major in voice, at the Sainte-Foy CEGEP. Her heart and all of her time were, from that moment on, given to music and she finally felt like she could breathe again. Her heart beat to the rhythm of her true passion and she discovered the world of opera, vocal jazz and foreign languages. She joyfully learned Italian and German, and one year later, Spanish. Slowly but surely, she became aware of the great artistic movements that shaped humanity. She also became more attuned to herself and every aspect of the business: discipline, rigor, courage, sacrifice, loyalty and vulnerability…all essential components of the business. She brilliantly completed her bachelor in classical vocal training at Université Laval.
20 countries with Up With People
The grand tour, the human experience, friends for life
Through her study of languages and cultures, she developed a yearning to travel, to discover new people and new worlds. Chantal went on tour for a year with Up With People, visiting about one hundred American and European cities. Already she sang and danced on many American and European stages! She discovered the world, wrote numerous songs, and accumulated an impressive amount of experience, from which we profit today.
And we’re off…
At the release of my first album, with Jacques Michel and Gérard Thibault (« Chez Gérard » Cabaret).
After returning home, she won first place at the Festival International de la Chanson de Granby, in the singer-songwriter category, where Quebec renowned impresario Guy Cloutier noticed her following a TV appearance. He gave her the opportunity to make an album, which was released in 1996. It was then possible to hear her songs on the radio from time to time, and her first video clip appeared on Musique Plus. Chantal has since recorded 5 other albums (see discography).
Here, in the centre, with François Maranda (the tall blond) who made me laugh so much…
With Véronic Dicaire; a meeting of great talents, LOL ;)
In the same year, 1996, she signed an important contract with the Pierre Gravel International Agency, which is still being honoured today. This agency is the home of such renowned Quebec artists as Marc Hervieux, Martin Petit and André-Philippe Gagnon.
Since then, she hasn’t stopped singing! She plays in a few musical reviews like Showtime with François Maranda and Les Fous du Rockn’Roll with Véronic Dicaire. She is regularly asked to perform in her hometown by the Festival d’été de Québec and at the Grand Théâtre de Québec, at the Palais Montcalm, at the Salle Albert-Rousseau, at the Théâtre Petit Champlain, and at the Théâtre Capitole among others. Every year she participates in the Téléthon Enfant Soleil, raising funds for children research. In the Montreal area, she can be heard, among other places, at the Coups de Coeur francophones, the Francofolies, in many Maisons de la Culture, at the Place des Arts and at the St-Denis Theatre.
The actor…
Here, totally delirious with Louisette Dussault☺
We did a lot of crazy things that summer at the Théâtre St-Sauveur!
During the summer of 99, Chantal gave life to another facet of her talent as she acted, sang and danced at the Théâtre St-Sauveur alongside Claude Michaud, Jeannine Sutto and Louisette Dussault.
Singing worldwild
With Michel Legrand in Las Vegas
What a liberating trip! Bottom photos with Claude Olivier
With the Canadian Army. The end of my preconceived notions about soldiers
As she is able to perform in five languages, Chantal excels in all styles, from jazz to opera, while touching upon French, American and Quebec music. Her talent has shined around the world in such cities as Toronto, Atlanta, New York, Paris and Hong Kong where she had the privilege of sharing the stage with such prestigious artists as Sister Sledge and Whitney Houston.
Between 1999 and 2002, she was regularly invited to perform in Las Vegas, at the Casino de Paris and at the Bellagio. The summer of 2003 saw her career take on a military turn as she toured in Bosnia for the Canadian Armed Forces.
Opening acts…
With Charles Trenet at the Capitole in Québec CIty
With Gilbert Bécaud, sipping a drink to warm up his voice. Mmmm, I just might try that myself!
In addition to her numerous corporate gigs, Chantal has been regularly called upon to be the opening act of many well-established Quebec stand-up comics like Pierre Légaré, Stéphane Rousseau, Daniel Lemire and Jean-Michel Anctil. She also has had the honour and privilege of opening for two legends of the French repertoire – Charles Trenet and Gilbert Bécaud. Chantal has also toured in France, more precisely in Bordeaux, Périgueux, Provence and in St-Malo, where she performed alongside Michel Rivard and Daniel Bélanger. We saw her opening for Mes Aïeux, and she made a series of appearances opening for André-Philippe Gagnon at the Casino de Montreal. She has recently completed a tour where she shared the stage with Quebec icon, Jean Lapointe.
Palliative care…
Parallel to her professional life, Chantal has been juggling with the idea of singing for patients in palliative care. She first tested the waters as a volunteer at the Charles-Lemoyne hospital. Later, thanks to the PalliAmi foundation, she was hired by the Notre-Dame Hospital to perform in their Palliative Care Center. « It is one of the richest experiences I have had the opportunity to live. There are no words to express all of the intensity, the life-force, that exists on the edge of life. It is a most humbling privilege. »
Le White Project…
Her latest release, le White Project, is a pleasant surprise with rhythmic melodies and pop-folk style. It reveals the musician she has become. She is currently working on a new album.
Obviously, Chantal has not sung her final words …
