Bio
O!Boy? – like an exclamation of surprise: What is this song?
O!Boy! – as an exclamation of joy: What good vibrations!
Oooo!Boy – like a sigh of well-being …
O!Boy … they are four men singing, a cappella, love, life and the pleasure of being in the world. They invite you to travel, in the colors of the barbershop, a joyful and romantic style, from the USA at the beginning of the 20th century.
At the beginning there is François who simply wants to sing. He hesitates between: integrate a choir dedicated to the repertoire of Bach or, why not, try this old style heard in his childhood, these tunes joyful and full of humor that sang his cousin Joel and his acolytes …
After two years of beginnings, explorations and wanderings, O!Boy finds his “dream team” where personalities and stamps mingle with perfection. It is the end of 2015. David, Leander, Emmanuel and François go to the discovery of the repertoire, glean some sheet music on the canvas, buy arrangements from American specialists, sing in the street, sing in the salons, sing in some cultural places, sing and sing again and also embark on the Jeunesses Musicales adventure for the 2017-18 season.
Picture by Zouhir Alami
O!Boy then works with some vocal coaches, one of whom convinces the quartet to try the competition … In March 2017, for his first participation in the field, O! Boy creates the surprise and wins the bronze medal of the 18th national competition of the Dutch barbershop association (Holland Harmony).
Happy and proud of this recognition, the four singers pursue with enthusiasm and ambition their exploration and study of style, invited by the famous Barbershop Harmony Society to take part in the annual Harmony University, held in Nashville – Tennessee, summer 2018.
In march 2019, the four win 2 Gold Medals during the Holland Harmony Convention: best male quartet and best male choir, thanks to their joining Momentum Chorus.
References
They trusted us: Centre Culturel de Namur, Nuit de Chœurs des Villers-la-Ville, Foyer – Centre Culturel de Perwez, Jeunesses Musicales, Plaisirs d’Hiver, Gaume Jazz Festival, Tricoterie, Hôpital d’Ixelles, Hôpital Saint-Luc, Marry Me, SceneOff, WssTP, Hôpital Molière-Longchamps, Ferme du Biéreau, Centre Culturel de Hannut, la Fonderie, le Cercle des Voyageurs, le Casino de Liège…
And you?
The Boys
François Lourtie – Lead
Born in 1978, with a degree in communications, François is a saxophonist, bassist, singer and singer-songwriter. A self-taught musician, François has played professionally with a wide range of groups in a variety of styles, including rock, jazz, world music and contemporary music.
Leander Moens – Tenor
Born in 1992, graduate in project and event management, singer. Leander studied at the KCBrussel with David Links. Active in a number of projects (Bandas Bruselas, Vonk, Andrews Brothers, collaboration with The Brussels Vocal Project, Juicy, Pirly Zurstassen), from September 2018 he will be teaching singing in Vilvoorde and Dendermonde.
Emmanuel Donnet – Baritone
Born in 1976, Emmanuel is a singer, psychologist and body-psychotherapist. Involved in various socio-cultural projects (Tricoterie) and therapeutic projects (Collectif BEES), Emmanuel devotes much of his time to O!Boy and other vocal (improvisation) and musical projects (nanabi no kitsune).
David Serraz – Bass
Né en 1976, comédien, chanteur, art-thérapeute, professeur de théâtre, clown. Après 10 ans au sein de plusieurs compagnies, à Toulouse et Bordeaux, David s’installe à Bruxelles pour se former à l’art-thérapie et poursuivre sa carrière de comédien, de professeur de théâtre et chanteur. Passé par de nombreux ensembles vocaux de haut niveau, il se consacre aujourd’hui à O!Boy et son métier de comédien.
