Alain Trudel (born 13 June 1966) is a
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
conductor, trombonist and composer.
Biography
Born in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
,
Quebec
Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...
, Trudel first became known to the public as a trombone soloist. He made his solo debut at the age of 18, with Charles Dutoit and the
Orchestre Symphonique de Montreal
The Montreal Symphony Orchestra (french: Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, or OSM) is a Canadian symphony orchestra based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The orchestra’s home is the Montreal Symphony House at Place des Arts. It is the only o ...
. Trudel was the first Canadian to be a Yamaha international artist, and Yamaha has named a trombone mouthpiece in his honour.
He served on the faculty of the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec à Montréal from 1995 to 2008, teaching trombone and chamber music.
From 2004 to 2012, Trudel was conductor of the
Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. From 2006 to 2008, Trudel was music director of the
CBC Radio Orchestra
The CBC Radio Orchestra was a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that was operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Until the early 1980s CBC had a number of orchestras located in Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, and Hal ...
, the final conductor to hold the post whilst the orchestra was under the auspices of the CBC. Trudel was also interim music advisor for the
Manitoba Chamber Orchestra
The Manitoba Chamber Orchestra (MCO) is a chamber orchestra based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It offers an annual subscription series at Westminster United Church, which regularly features Canada's leading soloists, such as James Ehnes and Meash ...
from 2007 to 2008. He suffered from a rare cancer in his late 30s that caused him to cease work temporarily.
In 2006, Trudel became music director of l'Orchestre Symphonique de Laval. He made his
Opéra de Montréal
LOpéra de Montréal is an opera company in Montreal, Canada. It performs at the Place des Arts theatre complex in downtown Montreal, in the borough of Ville-Marie. It was founded in 1980 as a company focused on productions in French.
History ...
debut in 2009, with ''Die Zauberflöte'', as well as the 30th anniversary gala, which was released as a live CD and nominated for a L'ADISQ award. In 2010, he made his debut at l'Opéra de Quebec. He has served as principal guest conductor of the
Ottawa Symphony Orchestra The Ottawa Symphony Orchestra (OSO) is a full size orchestra in Ottawa, Canada, including professional, student and amateur musicians. With around 100 musicians, the OSO is Ottawa's largest orchestra, which allows it to perform large symphonic rep ...
, and principal youth and family conductor of the
National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa.
He was principal guest conductor of the
Victoria Symphony Orchestra from 2009 to 2013. Trudel was music director of
Orchestra London Canada from 2011 to 2014, the final music director in the orchestra's history. In September 2012, Trudel became the conductor of the orchestra and chamber orchestra of the
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario (UWO), also known as Western University or Western, is a public research university in London, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on of land, surrounded by residential neighbourhoods and the Thames Ri ...
.
In the US, Trudel first guest-conducted the
Toledo Symphony Orchestra
The Toledo Alliance for the Performing Arts was created in 2019 when the Toledo Symphony Orchestra and the Toledo Ballet merged. Based in Toledo, Ohio, it operated with a $13.2 million budget in its fiscal year 2020 and maintains the two brand na ...
in March 2010. In June 2017, the orchestra announced the appointment of Trudel as its next music director, effective with the 2018–2019 season, with an initial contract of 3 years. He is to hold the title of music director designate for the 2017–2018 season.
In May 2022, he was named Artistic Director of the
National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Canada's leading professional training program for orchestral musicians, under the umbrella of
Brott Music Festival and BrottOpera following the sudden death of founding Artistic Director
Boris Brott
Boris Brott, (March 14, 1944 – April 5, 2022) was a Canadian conductor and motivational speaker. He was one of the most internationally recognized Canadian conductors, having conducted on stages around the world, including Carnegie Hall and C ...
.
Trudel is the recipient of numerous awards, among them the
Virginia Parker Prize, ''Le grand prix du disque Président de la République de l'Académie Charles Cros'' (France), and the
Heinz Unger Prize for conducting. As a composer, Trudel has been commissioned by the CBC, the National Arts Center, the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra
The Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Toronto, Ontario. Founded in 1906, the TSO gave regular concerts at Massey Hall until 1982, and since then has performed at Roy Thomson Hall. The TSO also manages the Toron ...
, Bellows and Brass, among others. He has also been named an Ambassador of Canadian Music by the
Canadian Music Center
The Canadian Music Centre was founded in 1959 by a group of Canadian composers who saw a need to create a repository for Canadian music. It now holds Canada's largest collection of Canadian concert music, and works to promote the music of its As ...
.
Trudel was made a Knight of the
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as ''l'Ordre national du Québec'', and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is an order of merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Govern ...
in 2019.
[https://www.toledo.com/news/2019/06/14/daily-dose/trudel-tso-music-director-named-knight-of-the-national-order-of-qu-bec/]
Discography
Recordings as solo trombonist
Solo trombone recordings
* ''Récital'' (SNE-563-CD, 1990)
* ''Tableaux from France, Vol 1'' (Amplitude CLCD-2015, 1992)
* ''The International Trombone Association presents Alain Trudel Trombone Favorites'' (ITA WO-121294, 1994)
* ''Trombone Concerti'' (Naxos 8.553831, 1997)
* ''Jericho's Legacy'' (Naxos Jazz 86021-2)
* ''The Art of the Trombone: Works for Trombone and Organ'' (Naxos 8.553716, 1999)
* ''Conversations'' (ATMA Classique ACD 22289, 2003)
Recordings with solo trombone works
* ''21st International Trombone Workshop'' (Hochschule für Musik Detmold HSD 003)
* The Canadian Staff Band: ''A Gala Festival'' (The Salvation Army Festival CSBCD-0495)
* University of Calgary Wind Ensemble: ''Danceries'' (Arktos 200148)
* François Dompierre: ''Les Jardins Intérieurs'' (ANALEKTA AN 2 8302)
* ''Pascal Dusapin: Concerto
' (Naïve Records Montaigne MO872181)
* Fiati virtuosi: ''Frescobaldi, Bassano, Gabrieli: Italian instrumental music from the Renaissance'' (ANALEKTA FL 2 3013)
* Le Kiosque à musique: ''Kiosque 1900'' (ATMA Classique ACD22293)
* ''Luciano Berio: Sequenzas I-XIV for Solo Instruments'' (Naxos 8.557661-63)
* ''Neil Currie: Passionscape''
* ''Nino Rota: La Strada; Concertos'' (ATMA Classique ACD22294)
* ''Trois Concertos: Panneton, Ferguson, Collard'' (ATMA Classique ACD22282)
Recordings as conductor only
* Ronald Barron, trombone: ''An Evening from the 18th Century'' (Boston Brass Series BB1007, 2005)
* Sanctuary: ''The heart has its reasons'' (Warner Classics 2564 62019–2, 2005)
* Bernard Primeau Montréal Jazz Ensemble with Les Violons du Roy: ''Rencontre Jazz Et Classique – Live Au Gesù'' (Swing' In Records SITCD5006, 2006)
* National Youth Orchestra of Canada: ''Selections from the National Tour, 2009'' (NYOC2009CD, 2009)
* Opéra de Montréal: ''Le Gala du 30e anniversaire'' (ATMA Classique ACD22627, 2010)
* National Youth Orchestra of Canada: ''Russian Masters – Canadian Creations'' (NYOC2012CD, 2012)
* Stephen Chatman, composer: ''Earth Songs'' (Centrediscs CMCCD14709, 2012)
* National Youth Orchestra of Canada: ''Mahler: Symphony No. 9'' (NYOC2013CD, 2013)
* Jocelyn Morlock, composer: ''Cobalt'' (Centrediscs CMCCD14709, 2014)
* Orchestre symphonique de Laval: ''Ottorino Respighi: Il Tramonto'' (ATMA Classique ACD22732, 2015)
* Jean-Philippe Sylvestre, piano: ''Mathieu/Rachmaninov'' (ATMA Classique ACD22763, 2017)
Notable premieres
* Malcolm Forsyth: ''These Cloud-capp'd Towers'' (1989) Concert piece for trombone and orchestra.
* Jacques Hétu: ''Concerto pour trombone, Op. 57'' (1995)
* Alexina Louie: ''Ricochet'' (1992) Chamber concerto for trombone and six performers.
* Randolph Peters: ''The Seven Gates of Kur'' (2000) For trombone and brass band.
References
External links
Official homepage of Alain TrudelUniversity of Ottawa faculty page on Alain Trudel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trudel, Alain
Male conductors (music)
Canadian trombonists
Male trombonists
1966 births
Living people
21st-century Canadian conductors (music)
21st-century classical trombonists
21st-century Canadian male musicians
20th-century classical trombonists
Musicians from Montreal
20th-century classical musicians
Knights of the National Order of Quebec
20th-century Canadian male musicians