L’Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestres

Little did Bruno Bouchard, Jasmin Cloutier, Simon Drouin and Simon Elmaleh know when they founded the Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestre, in Québec in 2002 that they were laying the foundations for a new framework for the performing arts (music, productions, street theatre, street shows). At the outset a music project, the Orchestre d’Hommes-Orchestre soon metamorphosed into an interdisciplinary experimental workshop. Revolving around the character of the one-man band (the all-rounder, with no one specific talent, who could do everything at once), the group dabbled in many directions, without the prerequisite expertise or experience. Looking outside the box, they have redefined virtuosity. Their experimentation takes the group away from uniformity and standardization. Their work is, to some extent a reaching out to intelligence and resourcefulness. It is also their attempt to build a bridge between contemporary art and popular culture.

The group’s first production in 2002, from a Tom Waits repertoire, continues to stir up wide enthusiasm. In summer 2008, the group created two new projects inspired by a 1963 Chevrolet milk truck: Mobiloscope, a video performance that questions the fundamentals of memory, and Tintamarre Caravane, a musical for a barrel organ wagon. Theirs is said to be “music that can be seen”.