Andrea Menard Interview
Andrea Menard is an award-winning Métis-Canadian singer/songwriter, actor, and speaker. Born in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Menard grew up in a musical family and studied dramatic arts at the University of Saskatchewan. In 1998, she starred in her own one-woman show, The Velvet Devil, which she wrote with longtime producer and collaborator, Robert Walsh. She gained public recognition from The Velvet Devil and went on to tour Canada with the show, releasing a soundtrack in 2002 and adapting it for a made-for-television movie on CBC in 2006. Since then, she has released several albums and starred in numerous hit TV series on APTN, including Moccasin Flats, which is the first Aboriginal-created and produced dramatic series in North America. As a cultural ambassador and advocate for reconciliation and unity, Menard has performed for Royalty, Prime Ministers, Governor-Generals, and even sang her song “Peace” to the world’s NATO Generals.
Career Highlights
Menard has released four solo albums, The Velvet Devil (2002), Simple Steps (2005), Sparkle (2008), Lift (2014). In 2007 she was featured on the compilation album Real Divas - Torch Light Vol. II, along with several Canadian jazz vocalists.
She has created and starred in two made-for-television specials, The Velvet Devil (2006), and Sparkle: An Evening with Andrea Menard (2010). In 2014, she debuted her self-titled symphony show, I Am Andrea Menard, with the Regina Symphony Orchestra.
As an actress, Menard has starred in the television shows: Moccasin Flats (2003-2006), Wapos Bay: The Series (2005), Rabbit Fall (2007-2008), Blackstone (2011), and Hard Rock Medical (2013).
Her music has been used in a number of TV shows internationally, most notably her tongue-in-cheek ode to gender politics, "If I Were a Man", which was featured on an episode of the series Queer as Folk.
She has been nominated for several Gemini Awards for her work on various television series and specials. In 2008, she won for “Best Individual or Ensemble Performance in an Animated Program or Series” for Wapos Bay: The Series.
Her film adaptation of The Velvet Devil won thirteen Showcase Awards at the 2008 Saskatchewan Motion Picture Association (SMPIA) Awards.
Menard’s albums have been nominated for multiple Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards and Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards. Her 2005 album, Simple Steps, won a Western Canadian Music Award (WCMA), two Canadian Aboriginal Music Awards, and an Indian Summer Music Award in 2006.
She won “Best International Artist” at the Aboriginal Peoples Choice Music Awards in 2009 and was nominated for “Aboriginal Recording of the Year” at the Western Canadian Music Award (WCMA) in 2015.
In May 2005, Menard was one of the headliners of a special command performance for Queen Elizabeth II to mark the 100th anniversary of Saskatchewan becoming a province of Canada.
Source: https://andreamenard.com