Robert Sylvain
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2024 Rassemblement
Saturday morning I’ll be presenting selections from the Franco American Programs audio archives that I recently digitized from 50 year-old reel-to-reel tapes for inclusion in the new Franco American Digital Archives/Portail franco-américain Saturday night I’ll be leading a singalong of simple traditional Franco-American songs in French and English from the late great Michael Parent’s songbook,…
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Music in Maine at Maine Historical Society
Honored and gratified that Mémère’s Notebook will be featured in the upcoming “Music in Maine” exhibit at the Maine Historical Society Museum in Portland. Opening on March 8th and on display through December 31, 2024.
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North Haven, Maine 2/16/23
Robert Sylvain will be sharing his music and history with us at Waterman’s Community Center. After a busy day at school, this concert will be another amazing piece of Sylvain’s visit. He will also be joined by students from NHCS that took his workshops today. 7:00PM, $5.00 for adults, free for students
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Chère Leonore from Mémère’s Notebook
Here’s a clip from the webcast of last year’s CD release concert at Saco River Theatre. Produced by Pete Nenortas of Satronen Sound, and featuring Betsy Hooper on hurdy gurdy, Junior Stevens on accordion, Nicole Rabata on flute, Steve Roy on bass, Owen Marshall on bouzouki Jennifer Porter on piano, Per Hanson on drums, and…
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Online Program for USM’s Franco-American Collection
Robert Sylvain, Jr. Performance and Talk Join the Franco-American Collection and musician Robert Sylvain! Robert will be playing and singing selections from his Mémère’s notebook of Acadian folksongs in the original French as well as his English translations, along with a discussion of the process of unearthing the autochthonous melodies, their origin and evolution through…
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COVID-19 stalls final stages of production
So, I’ve had to pause work on my Mémère’s Notebook Project because of covid-19. Not only is the studio closed and musicians are self-isolating, but the supporting gigs I had lined up this spring have all been cancelled, so funding has dried up. I’m committed to finishing the project as soon as possible, but even…
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First sessions at Acadia Recording
Here are some photos from the past couple of days of recording. We got some awesome tracks down with Per Hanson, Steve Roy, and Neil Perlman, thanks to Jason and his team at Acadia Recording. Feeling really lucky to have such great talent around me. More to come…
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Campaign closes, Recording starts!
That’s a wrap on pre-orders! Thank you everyone who contributed, especially our sponsor-level backers: The Franco-American Center at UMaine, L’Alliance Française du Maine, Jeff Holland, Jamie McCue, Margaret McCue, Leo Muise, Saco River Theatre, and Brickhouse Music. There is still an opportunity to pre-order, contribute, and book appearances. Due to a technicality we can’t keep the indiegogo site…
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Home stretch!
Just over one week to go! We’ve raised over $3000 and I’m very pleased with the warm reception this project has enjoyed. One more push will make a big difference as we move into the prodcution phase, so please let your friends know and if you have a venue that could host a program, consider…
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A challenge
Happy holidays! In two days it will be Christmas, and we’ll be two-thirds of the way to our deadline. After a strong start things have cooled down a bit so I’m hoping for a strong last trimester. To that end I’ve pasted up this gift card for those who are looking for something special at…
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1/3 of the way there
With 20 days down and 40 days to go we’re right on target! Thanks to everyone who has contributed and shared. We got some great press from the Bangor Daily News along with a cool video about the project by Troy Bennett last week. I also recorded a segment a few days ago for a new podcast…
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Recording Mémère’s Notebook
Hello friends! I’m collecting pre-orders for a CD and songbook combo, along with concerts and workshops, featuring rare folksongs of the unique Acadian culture found in northern New England and the Maritimes. These are not donations or investment funds, but rather pre-payment for goods and services to be provided presently. I’m confident that everyone is going…