Eric Foisy

From a young age, Eric showed a great interest in music and the performing arts.  He was the musical director of the Café chantant at École secondaire catholique Algonquin during his high school years, the only student to do so.  From 1990 to 1994, while studying at the University of Ottawa, he returned to North Bay in the summers to produce and stage subsequent concerts with his colleague, Alain Legrand.  He also performed as a solo artist and as a member of the groups "Trio Foisy-Legrand-Tremblay" and "Nostalgie" with drummer Shawn Sasyniuk. 

In 1990, he was proud to become a member of the Association des professionnels de la chanson et de la musique (APCM) and to collaborate with the great names of the Franco-Ontarian music industry, hoping to contribute himself to the development and dissemination of Francophone music.  In 1994, he accepted to sit on the Board of Directors, but unfortunately had to leave his position when he was invited to go on his first tour with the internationally renowned company Up with People.

From 1994 to 1998, he toured three times with this group, performing more than 250 shows in 25 American states, 5 Canadian provinces and 10 European countries as a singer, musician, bandleader and vocal leader. 

He moved to New Liskeard in 1998 to teach music at École secondaire Sainte-Marie where he also contributed to the modernization of the Spectacle Apollo show as a producer and artistic director.  In addition to the show, he contributed to three studio recordings, including two for the international organization Mond'Ami.

In 1999, he moved closer to his family by accepting a position as a music teacher at École secondaire catholique Algonquin.  He established the vocal music program that still contributes to the development of the next generation of singers.  During his time at ESCA, in addition to directing the music program, he was also the producer and musical director of the Café chantant.  He is proud to have contributed to the development of several professional artists over the years, including Marilou Martin, Alain Rochefort (Blue Man Group), Cory Marks, Alicia Turner (Broome Turners) and Cody Allen.

From 2005 to 2013, Eric took a step back from the stage due to challenges caused by anxiety and the time demands of his new professional and family responsibilities.  He will participate in a few projects that involve singing for community causes such as the Lions Children's Christmas Telethons and Christmas shows for the Serenity House Foundation in Nipissing. 

From 2013 to 2015, he was the keyboardist for the band Time Machine which performed popular and classic rock hits.  In November 2016, Eric won his first competition as part of the community component of North Bay a du talent.  In 2019, he produced and co-directed, with Shawn Sasyniuk, the 50th anniversary show Café chantant : rétrospective. 

In June 2021, having overcome his anxiety-related challenges, Eric decided to invest more time in his passion and embarked on an intensive learning process to improve as an artist and to develop as a producer, another passion that he discovered in himself.  To realize his first projects, he set up a home studio.  In 2022, he launched his Facebook art page entitled " Eric Foisy - Artist : My journey, my dream " to openly share his new journey and how he overcame his anxieties in the hope that it might help others.  This return also includes new live performances of his new songs.  In short, his artistic journey is taking off towards new horizons!