Alain Trudel

Alain Trudel

Alain Trudel. Trombonist, conductor, composer, b Montreal 13 Jun 1966; premiers prix chamber music, trombone (CMM) 1985. Alain Trudel studied (1981-5) at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec with Joseph Zuskin. In 1984, Trudel became the first brass player to win the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (MSO) Concours and, the following year, he won the International Stepping Stones of the Canadian Music Competitions. For the 1986-7 season, he joined the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra as principal trombone, under Franz-Paul Decker. In 1989 Trudel became a founding member of the Nouvel Ensemble Moderne, with which he played 1989-95, thereafter dedicating himself to a solo career and, increasingly, to conducting.

Alain Trudel is widely considered the best trombonist in the world. After returning to Canada, he pursued a solo career, performing with over 20 orchestras in America and Europe, among them the orchestra of the Tivoli Festival in Copenhagen, the Solistas del Venezuela in Caracas, the CBC Vancouver Orchestra, the MSO, I Musici de Montréal, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Deutsche-Symphony, l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Austrian Radio Orchestra, and the Polish National Radio Television Orchestra. Trudel has given trombone recitals at Carnegie Hall and the Conservatoire National Supérieure de Paris, as well as in Holland, Belgium, Germany, Mexico, and Japan, and across North America.

Following a recital that Trudel gave at the Institut canadien in Quebec City, Marc Samson wrote: 'This young instrumentalist [Trudel] plays trombone just as he breathes, with such ease and facility that one is not made aware of the technical challenges involved' (Quebec City Le Soleil, 5 Dec 1989). Among the works Alain Trudel has premiered are a concerto by Anthony Rozankovic, Les Jardins intérieurs by François Dompierre, Structure en Bronze by Fabrice Fitch, Watt by Pascale Dusapin, and works by Vincent Collard, Malcolm Forsyth, Alexina Louie, and Carlos Sanchez-Gutierrez.

Trudel is part of several ensembles including the jazz quartet Bellows and Brass, with Joseph Petric and Guy Few, and Le Kiosque à Musique, an ensemble dedicated to 19th-century band music.

Compositions
Alain Trudel has written works for trombone, including Grand-Louis, as well as music for piano, orchestra, and string quartet. Several pieces in his repertoire are his own transcriptions for trombone, and a series in his name is published by Doberman-Yppan.

Conducting Career

Alain Trudel has become highly regarded as a conductor. He began conducting student ensembles at the Camp des Laurentides (1988-2004). He was artistic director and conductor of the Ensemble de cuivres philharmonia, which he founded in Montreal in 1990, and he also regularly conducted at the Scotia Festival of Music in 1991. In 1996 Trudel conducted and played with the Northern Symphonia in England, then with the Windsor Symphony Orchestra twice in 1999. He was appointed conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra in 2004 and principal conductor of the CBC Vancouver Orchestra in 2006. Also in 2006, Trudel was named artistic advisor to the Manitoba Chamber Orchestra and principal conductor of the Laval Symphony Orchestra. Trudel has conducted the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, and Les Violons du Roy, in addition to orchestras in China, Guatemala, and Japan. On the podium he has championed Canadian music, premiering works by R. Murray Schafer, Omar Daniel, Michel Gonneville, Michael Oesterle, and other composers.

Appointments; Awards

Alain Trudel replaced Joseph Zuskin at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec beginning in 1997, and began teaching at the Glenn Gould Professional Music School (Royal Conservatory of Music) in 2005. He was president of the Fondation pour les arts et la culture de Chambly-Carignan 1994-2000. He has received many awards including the Virginia Parker Award, the Mildred Dixon Holmes Award, Le grand prix de l'Académie Charles Cros, the Choc de l'Année of Le Monde la Musique, a Prix Opus, a Juno award and the 2008 Heinz Unger award. In 2009 Trudel was named an ambassador of the Canadian Music Centre.

Selected Works

String Quartet. 1984

Visions. Trumpet, trombone, piano, percussion. 1992

Heavy Metal. Solo trumpet and wind band. 1993

Passage. Accordion and trombone. 1994. (Also versions for piano and trumpet, and piano solo)

Masque. Chamber orchestra. 1997

Big Bang. Orchestra. 1999

Le chauffe eau. Recorder, trumpet, accordion, percussion, synthesizer. 2003 (from the stage production Le chauffe eau)

Selected Discography

Albrechsberger - Martin - Mozart - Rozankovic. Orchestre de chamber des Laurentides, Dessaints conductor. 1986. SNE 536

Beethoven - Weber - Serocki and others. Few p. 1989. SNE 563 (CD)

Dompierre Les Jardins intérieurs. Dompierre synthesizer. (1989). Opérama CD-OP-0407

Jericho's Legacy. Alain Trudel trombone, John Stetch piano, Éric Lagacé bass, Jim Hillman drums. 1998. Naxos 86021-2

The Art Of The Trombone. Alain Trudel trombone, Patrick Wedd organ. 1999. Naxos 8.553716

Nino Rota: La Strada. Alain Trudel trombone, Jennifer Swartz harp, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal, Yannick Nézet-Séguin conductor. 2003. ACD22294

Trois concertos. Alain Trudel trombone, Marc Couroux piano, Julie-Anne Derome violin, Walter Boudreau conductor. 2003. Atma Classique ACD22282

Conversations. Alain Trudel trombone, Yannick Nézet-Séguin piano. 2003. Atma Classique ACD22289

Kiosque 1900. Le Kiosque à musique, Alain Trudel conductor. 2003. ACD 22293