It is as a builder that Huguette Cyr is inducted to the Edmundston Arts Hall of Fame.

True pioneer in the field of musical education, she has been working for over 50 years to promote music in her community, for both school-age children and through choir singing, as accompanist or as director. Strongly committed to her beliefs, she is determined to promote music, working quietly behind the scenes. She is often described as being low-profile, but she can easily bring others to exceed their own expectations.

Huguette Cyr began being actively involved in the music field in 1951 as accompanist at the reed organ for the choir of her native village of Saint-Hilaire. She was a member of the Collège Maillet choir, between 1955 and 1961, before accepting the direction of Edmundston’s Our Lady of the Sacred Heart parish choir in 1967. She remained at the choir’s direction for 23 years. Since 1994, she has been the director of the Our Lady of the Seven Sorrows parish choir. She is also the director of the Balladins du dimanche since 1996.

Mrs. Cyr has always tried to blend her passion for music with different causes near to her heart. One such example is the « Noël de Partage », a yearly fundraising event reuniting on stage several area choirs. Proceeds from the show are offered to different local charitable organizations. This event was spearheaded by Mrs. Cyr from 1998 to 2008.

Mrs. Cyr holds a Bachelor’s degree in education and music (piano), and has been giving private piano lessons in the area for 33 years. Between 1968 and 1970, Mrs. Cyr taught music in local schools while acting as program coordinator for 12 years, between 1970 and 1982. Her career in education went on at the Saint-Hilaire school between 1984 and 1994, where she was the school principal while continuing to teach music classes and other subjects. Huguette Cyr was also actively involved in the organization of the Madawaska Music Festival where she was responsible for the choir component. She chaired the event for two years. She was one of the main artisans responsible for implementing the « Jeunesses musicales du Canada » organization to New Brunswick in the early seventies. She was notably a director on the national board of the organization where her work was recognized in 1990 when she was granted a Life Membership Award.

All in all, Huguette Cyr’s work spans… 115 years of service in different choirs, either as accompanist or director or as an active member of the Youth Music Canada organization and other regional activities. She fully deserves the honour being bestowed upon her today.
 

Audrey Côté Saint-Onge fut intronisée au Temple de la renommée des arts d'Edmundston le 28 octobre, 2007. Elle oeuvre dans le domaine des arts depuis six décennies dans la région d'Edmundston. Elle est au service d'une cause, celle de la culture. Sa carrière s'est orientée rapidement vers le développement culturel communautaire, autant sur la scène régionale, provinciale et nationale. Grande éducatrice, intellectuelle ancrée dans l'action artistique, ses connaissances approfondies, ses expériences riches et variées en font une citoyenne respectée et admirée.