Opera Star André Courville and Sweet Cecilia Pair Up for Holiday Concert December 1

PASA Brings Local Favorites Together for the First Time

Lafayette, LA: It will be a unique night of music when international opera star André Courville and the high harmony family trio Sweet Cecilia come together for a one-of-a-kind holiday concert at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 1 at the Heymann Performing Arts Center in Lafayette, LA. The performance is part of Performing Arts Serving Acadiana’s (PASA’s) 22-23 season. Tickets are available at www.pasaonline.org or at the Heymann Center box office. 

The idea for this pairing bubbled up during an off-topic conversation between Courville and PASA Executive Director Jackie Lyle. 

Courville and the Sweet Cecilia trio of Laura Huval, Maegan Berard and Callie Guidry were all childhood pals who are now beloved music performers. Courville suggested that the four friends had long wanted to perform together and that only the real point at which their musical genres crossed over was holiday music. 

The thought need merely to have been expressed for PASA to have jumped on it. The deal was quickly done, the date was set and the idea grew and swelled. On December 1, Courville and Sweet Cecilia will be joined on stage by an 11-piece string ensemble, with orchestrations by Danny Devillier. 

“With Andre’s musical vision and creative staging, this will be a musically exceptional and fun concert,” says Lyle. “We’ve certainly had fun putting it together, and yes, it will be a night divine!” 

“PASA’s mission includes offering paid performance opportunities for artists living in our area and this concert certainly fulfills that component!” says Lyle. “We will have a stage full of area musicians, as well as the contributions of Danny Devillier, who has been leaving his talented imprint on our community for a very long time.” 

“Our corporate sponsors for this performance—Sterling Automotive Group, Hancock Whitney, and Latter & Blum—all loved the idea of this concert,” says Lyle. 

The Grammy-nominated band Sweet Cecilia is a family trio from Cecilia, LA. Their music is deeply rooted in country, rock, folk, and Cajun influences. Their three-part harmony is rich and sultry. The three women are accomplished vocalists and musicians, as well as master songwriters. Sweet Cecilia was formally created in 2012; however, sisters Laura Huval and Maegan Berard, along with their first cousin, Callie Guidry, have been singing and making music together since childhood. Their late father and uncle Al Berard--a singer/songwriter/musician--encouraged the three young girls to pursue music. 2 

Sweet Cecilia’s music is fresh and modern, at the same time it holds on to the musical roots and traditions around which they were raised. 

Bass-baritone André Courville is a star on opera stages throughout the world. His voice has been called “jaw-dropping”, “supercharged”, “splendid”, and “lush” by Opera News, “warm” and “rich” by The Washington Post, and “imposing” by The Philadelphia Inquirer. 

Courville saw his future on the opera stage when, as a teenager, he attended a PASA performance that featured the Stanislavsky Opera. 

His recent and upcoming engagements with some of the most celebrated companies in Europe, Asia, and America include debuts at Zurich Opera in Switzerland; Opéra National de Bordeaux, Opéra de Rouen Normandie, and Opéra de Limoges in France; Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Italy; Karlsruhe’s Badisches Staatstheater in Germany; the Moscow Philharmonic at Tchaikovsky Concert Hall in Russia; Guangzhou Opera in China; Houston Grand Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Dallas Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Arizona Opera, Kentucky Opera, Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Columbus Symphony Orchestra, Berkshire Opera Festival, Caramoor Music Festival, and Opera Lafayette in New York City and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, among others. 

He has also appeared at Carnegie Hall numerous times since his debut there with Opera Orchestra of New York. Trained at the prestigious Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, the Cecilia, Louisiana native has been honored with the ABC Fund's Rising Star ICON Award. He is also the recipient of top awards in eight national and international vocal competitions, including First Prize in Los Angeles’s Loren L. Zachary National Vocal Competition and Top Prize in New York City’s Gerda Lissner Foundation International Vocal Competition. 

“André Courville is in high demand because of his powerful stage presence and incredible talent. For those who love opera already, this is no surprise,” says Lyle. “For those who don’t follow classical music or opera, our December 1 concert is a chance to get hooked on this guy’s talent.” 

In addition to the public performance on December 1, André Courville and Sweet Cecilia will also perform for Lafayette Parish School System seventh graders on November 30 in a PASA Daytime Performance for Students. 

Tickets are available now for the December 1 performance by André Courville and Sweet Cecilia at www.pasaonline.org or at the Heymann Center box office. The box office phone number is 337-291-5555 and box office hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. 

For more information, call PASA at 337-769-3231 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

About PASA: Performing Arts Serving Acadiana offers performing arts entertainment, focusing on dance, theater, and classical music, with occasional forays into other genres. PASA also delivers performing arts activities—master classes, workshops, lecture demonstrations and other offerings—in a variety of locations in the Acadiana area. 

For more information about PASA’s comeback or any of the performances, call PASA at (337) 781-1273 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..