Music of the Heart

The story of three friends with one incredible skill

Story by Jen Dunkerley
All photos courtesy of l'Atelier de Lutherie Moustache

As the streets of Quebec City bustle with the normal everyday sounds of sirens and traffic, off in the distance a new sound starts to emerge. It is a light sound, yet very strong, and sends a message to its listeners that draw them in, wanting more. It is the sound of traditional folk music, and it comes from a small guitar shop hidden away on St. John’s Street.

L’ Atelier de Lutherie Mustache is a small shop run by three friends who specialize in the repair and manufacturing of stringed instruments. The Luthiers, as they are known in Quebec, started small projects together making guitars for about a year and a half until they decided to open the shop in October of 2005. Since then, they have worked together to bring their love of handmade stringed musical instruments to the rest of the city.

Sebastian Dupuis is in charge of repairs and has been involved with the making of stringed instruments for most of his life. “I first learned how to make violins when I was in school, then I moved onto guitars,” Dupuis says. His co-worker, Caroline Champagne, who works in manufacturing, also got her start in violin making. In fact, the two have been by each other’s side for quite some time. “Since we were 16 we have been going to all different sorts of music festivals and meeting up with different musicians,” Dupuis says.

After immersing themselves in the musical world, the two decided to study the art of manufacturing plucked and stringed instruments. They studied violin making for three years at the College of Limoilou in the Centre de Formation et de Consultation eh Metiers d’arts in Quebec City. It wasn’t until 1998, while studying at the Ecole Nationale de Lutherie in Québec, when the two met up with the last member of their group, Philippe Lemieux.

Also in manufacturing, Lemieux is a skilled jazz guitarist and fiddler. When he was 12, Lemieux got his first guitar. “From the moment I started playing it I became interested in music because as far as I remember, I didn’t listen to music when I was in elementary school. I was more interested in sports and in playing outside.” Lemieux says. It wasn’t until the age of 15 when Philippe became interested in the fiddle. A friend of his sister who had a wide knowledge of musical instruments, and encouraged Philippe to do the same had introduced him to it.

“From the moment I started playing it I became interested in music because as far as I remember, I didn’t listen to music when I was in elementary school...”

Philippe studied violin making as well and then became interested in the making of Gypsy guitars after a trip he embarked on with Sebastian. It was that trip that infused their love of gypsy guitars and set the pace for the group’s future in making them. From then on the three worked hard to study their skill and even became roommates. “We combined our efforts to set up and develop a project to manufacture guitars in our apartment. That eventually transformed into a shop representing a prosperous business, specializing in the maintenance, manufacture and repairing of stringed instruments.” Champagne says.

Although the shop started out small, the group has worked hard to make their name known. “We have begun to grow to some of the larger cities like Montreal and more towards Eastern Quebec,” Dupuis says. For the past three years the group has worked hard at their craft. Their two main handmade styles of guitars are the gypsy guitar, which is found in gypsy jazz music, and the Irish mandolin. Originating in Turkey the mandolin is a large guitar that is used in traditional Irish folk music. “It (the mandolin) produces a strong sound and has a strong volume and needs to be played strong,” Dupuis says. He goes on to explain that instruments like these take an enormous amount of skill and time to produce and that it may take up to three months to create one handmade guitar.

Besides working at the shop, the trio has branched out further into their community. Champagne attends different musical festivals and is continuously in contact with local musicians along with her boyfriend who is also a local musician. “As a teenager I discovered the pleasure of singing and singing a repertoire of traditional Quebecois songs. That brought me closer to musicians and to share this passion with them. Since that time, the musical universe has been an integral part of my life.” Champagne says. Caroline also teaches at the Ecole Nationale de Lutherie in Quebec, the very school she and her colleagues went to. She says the workload is good for now but in the future, she and Philippe are planning to develop a new style of guitar for the shop.

For the past three years, Sebastian has been teaching at the Youth Musicians of the World, an after school program that gives free music lessons to children who cannot afford them. “It is very close, not a lot of people there, a good place for children to come and play,” Dupuis says. There are three of these schools located in the world. The first started in India five years ago and the other two, located in Quebec and Montreal, have developed within recent years. Other than working with children, Dupuis has teamed up with his co-worker Lemieux and has played at various places around Quebec and Montreal. Dupuis plays the guitar while Lemieux plays both the fiddle and the guitar. Their favorite style of music to play is folk jazz.  “We get small gigs here and there,” Dupuis says. The two agree that working at the store does take up most of their time, but because they don’t have a specific schedule, they are able to have many different musical engagements throughout the year.

“As long as there is an indication that we are making progress in the business and increasing our knowledge, I hope to continue believing in what we have built together.”

As for the shop, the group has high hopes for it. “As long as there is an indication that we are making progress in the business and increasing our knowledge, I hope to continue believing in what we have built together.” Lemeiux says. After knowing each other for so long, the group agrees that because of their close friendship, they have the ability to work well together and that is why the shop is doing as well as it is. However, in the future they would like to expand it and have employees, maybe even another store. For now, the three of them will work together in their small shop on St. John’s Street perfecting their skills and love of handmade guitars.

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