Aurelia O'Leary - Aurelia O'Leary (2015)

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Aurelia O'Leary - Aurelia O'Leary (2015)

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Born in the town of Gaspé, Québec, Aurélia O’Leary grew up in Provence, where she absrobed Southern France’s brilliant sun and melodious accent. A member of a succession of rock, French chanson and jazz groups, she won first place at Festival Crest Jazz Vocal, in Southeastern France, and ended up opening a concert by the legendary French crooner Henri Salvador. After being selected by FNAC, the giant French entertainment retail chain, for the Agitateurs de nouveaux talents series, she decided to pursue her music career from Paris.

Surrounded by well-known local musicians, O'Leary began performing in France and Europe with a repertoire of endlessly re-arranged jazz standards, finally recording, along with the magical pianist Pierre-Alain Goualch, an electro-jazz album that included Francophone jazz compositions. While in the recording studio, she met the pianist Yvan Cassar, who played on one of her selections, as well as other musicians with whom she has kept in touch to this day. In 2003, having decided to move back to Quebec, she participated as a singer-songwriter in the Festival en chanson de Petite-Vallée, right next door to her native village. That same year, she also performed at the Francofolies de la Rochelle festival in France.

A passionate voice teacher for many years, O'Leary has long been involved in musical theatre projects. She has written and directed 10 musicals for children and teenagers. Now feeling completely at home with her Montreal musicians, in a Quebec that remiains open to all influences, O'Leary performs a varied repertoire, including original compositions recorded with the guitarist Thomas Carbou. Most recently, she was a participant in the 2009 FrancoFolies de Montréal festival.