SOPHIE LAVOIE
Sophie Lavoie is a musician (fiddle player, pianist, and singer) and ethnomusicologist from Lac-Saint-Jean. She was born in Alma in 1982, and traditional music was often heard in her home. Sophie herself started learning classical music on the piano at the age of 10. In 2004, Sophie graduated from the University of Montreal with a bachelor's degree in Classical Piano, and in 2019, she submitted her thesis Les violoneux du Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean: style et repertoire des derniers de leur lignee and obtained a master's degree in Ethnomusicology. In parallel to learning the piano, Sophie taught herself traditional fiddle, which led her to play in multiple groups and eventually spend 6 years living in Ireland. Sophie has been recorded on numerous albums, such as L'Attisee (2010), Sophie & Fiachra (2010), Rewind (2014), Un Canadien errant (2016), Au bout du rang (2016), Portraits (2019), Le bonhomme sept heures/The Bonesetter (2021), Bleu bleu (2024), and Homerique (2025). Sophie has been described as a "sublime composer" (FolkWorld) and an "expert fiddler" (Songlines Magazine). Her repertoire is made up of a mixture of traditional Quebecois and Irish music, as well as many compositions, and comprises many tunes which employ alternative fiddle tuning (A-E-A-E & A-D-A-E). Sophie currently makes her living as a musician and a researcher.