Canadian-Belgian filmmaker Jean Detheux is the special guest of the next Mercredimusics event, to be held on April 5, 2006 at Casa Obscura in Montréal. Musicians Jean Derome, Joane Hétu, Martin Tétreault, Diane Labrosse, and Pierre Tanguay will improvise musical soundtracks for his movies Liaisons, Rupture, Happening cinéma-musique, and Le Bleu-Plus.

Saxophonist/vocalist Joane Hétu’s latest work — Filature, a “sound theatre” in three acts — will be presented at Usine C (Montréal) on March 16, 17, and 18, 2006. Filature is a musical allegory on the materials weavers use: warp, weft and pattern. {nbio:hetu_jo} unveils creative fabrics of sound and visuals, where music, dance, video art and lighting intertwine.

Filature will be interpreted by the Ensemble SuperMusique (Joane Hétu, musical direction, saxophone alto, vocals; Mélanie Auclair, cello; Guido Del Fabbro, violin, electronics; Jean Derome, saxophones, flutes, vocals; Claire Gignac, saxophones, flutes, vocals; Normand Guilbeault, double bass; Diane Labrosse, digital sampler, vocals; Danielle Palardy Roger, percussions; Pierre Tanguay, percussions, vocals; Némo Venba, trumpet).

Diane Labrosse will join Talking Pictures — a quartet of Ron Samworth, Dylan Van der Schyff, Peggy Lee, and Bill Clark — for a live performance at the Western Front (Vancouver, BC) on March 25, 2006.

20 000 sons sous les mers [20,000 Sounds Under the Sea] is a Harbour Symphony by Diane Labrosse for 6 boats, one train, moving drums and other instruments. The work will be presented on February 26 and March 5, 2006 near Pointe-à-Callière (Montréal).

Many actuellecd.com artists are nominated for the 9th Opus Prizes, awarded since 1996 by the Conseil québécois de la musique. The concert Palimpseste d’orchestre, revisiting the musics of Joane Hétu, Diane Labrosse and Danielle Palardy Roger is nominated for “Concert of the Year — actuelle and electroacoustic musics.” Playing Guitar: Symphony #1 by Tim Brady and Portrait Montréal by the Bozzini Quartet will face-off in the category “Disc of the Year — Modern and contemporary musics.” Canevas «+» by the Ensemble SuperMusique and Estrapade by morceaux_de_machines are both nominated for “Disc of the Year — Musique actuelle, Electroacoustics.” Finally, Mingus Erectus, by the Normand Guilbeault Ensemble is nominated for “Disc of the Year — Jazz and World music.” Winners will be announced on January 22, 2006.