Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections, 2015.196.15, Connecticut Historical Soc ...

Images(3)

Program: Le Party de Sucre 2013

Subject Daniel Boucher (American, born 1980)

Subject Nathan Ouellette

Date2013 April 6

MediumPaper

ClassificationsInformation Artifacts

Credit LineConnecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program collections

CopyrightIn Copyright

Object number2015.196.15

DescriptionSouthern New England Apprenticeship Program Year 15 ephemera relating to Daniel Boucher and Jean Galipeau.

Program for Le Party de Sucre 2013, The Sugar Party.

NotesSubject Note: The French Canadian music and cultural event Le Party de Sucre, Maple Sugar Party, was organized annually during the 2010s by Jam Francais, a musical initiative of fiddler Daniel Boucher of Bristol, Connecticut. These day-long events, a tradition around New England, featured music by New England French Canadian musicians, food typical of this cultural group such as tourtière, cretons, and sugar on snow; and displays and sales of maple syrup products and crafts such as musical spoons and woodcarvings. Videos and photographs from this event exist in the archive.

Featured musicians in 2013 included Josée Vachon from Massachusetts, Don and Cindy Roy from Maine, and Laurencio Beaudin and Claire Ouellet, as well as fiddling by Daniel Boucher and friends from Connecticut and Rhode Island.

In Year 15 (2012-2013) of the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program, fiddler Daniel Boucher of Bristol Ct taught Jean Galipeau from RI. Although he is a relative beginner in fiddling, Jean had a commitment to French Canadian music and organizing community activities around that theme in RI, so the connection with Daniel benefited him in that process. He participated in Daniel’s bi-weekly Jam Francais fiddle jams in Connecticut, and came to the Boucher family’s sugar house to play for a house party concert in March when the maple sap was boiling – a very typical Quebecois activity. The teaching centered around well-known and loved fiddle tunes such as St Anne’s Reel and Au Coin du Ciel, so that Jean can jump-start any gathering or jam with these. Jean also participated in Daniel’s Maple Sugar Festival, held in Bristol CT.

Biographical Note: Daniel Boucher is a talented fiddle player and composer from Bristol CT who learned French Canadian songs from his father and other musicians in the local community. Also a fine singer and composer of traditional-style songs, Daniel revitalized French Canadian folk music in Connecticut in the 2000s by organizing very popular soirées, dance parties, and seasonal celebrations including his annual Maple Sugar Party. Daniel has performed with New England-based French Canadian music groups such as Chanterelle and The Beaudoin Family, and with singer Josée Vachon. His performances include the Québec 400 celebrations in Québec City in 2008, dance parties at Le Foyer in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, the Blackstone River Theater in Cumberland, Rhode Island, French Day at the State Capitol in Hartford, and folk festivals in Lowell, Massachusetts and Bangor, Maine. Daniel’s concerts inspire audiences to participate in dancing, call and response singing, or playing the spoons.

CCHAP first met Daniel in 1998 when he played with his father Jules at the opening of the Sur Bois: Franco-American Woodcarvers of New England, an exhibit presented by CCHAP at the Institute for Community Research gallery. A dynamic performer and cultural activist, Daniel organized regular French-Canadian music jams and cultural events/celebrations around central Connecticut, drawing participants from all over New England. Daniel has been part of the Southern New England Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Program as both master and student over the years. He worked with renowned Quebecois fiddler Rosaire LeHoux in Year 7 ((2004-2005), learning Rosaire’s “crooked tunes.” He taught his own traditional fiddle compositions to 15-year old Nate Ouellette in Year 9, and in Year 10 worked with Colette Fournier on French Canadian songs and Jean Galipeau in Year 15 (2012-2013). Dan and Colette performed at a soiree organized by CCHAP for one of our cultural bus tours, and then again at the State Capitol before a large crowd commemorating Jean de Baptiste Day. Dan and Colette, along with former participants Donna Hebert and Nate Ouellette, have played all over New England with the Beaudoin project, a region-wide music preservation initiative, and at festivals, soirees, and house parties. CCHAP presented Daniel with a group of French-Canadian musicians at the Kennedy Center and Library of Congress “Homegrown: Music of America” series in 2011, and he played with Josée Vachon and Patrick Ross at an outdoor concert at CHS in 2015. Substantial CCHAP archive materials exist for Daniel and his events.

Additional materials exist for these artists and this event.

Cataloging Note: This project was made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services MA-245929-OMS-20.

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