Alain Trudel Wins Conductor Award
Heinz Unger Award Recognizes Outstanding Young Canadian Conductor
Alain Trudel--conductor, musician, composer and teacher--is recognized for his work as a Canadian conductor, engaging audiences and advocating Canadian music.
This year's Heinz Unger Award, a prize for up-and-coming Canadian conductors, went to Alain Trudel, a 41-year-old conductor whose talent has him directing orchestras across Canada.
Heinz Unger Award Rewards and Encourages the Young
The Heinz Unger Award has been recognizing outstanding young to mid-career professional conductors since 1968 with a $9,000 cash prize and the accompanying prestige. Awarded for his gifts for communicating his passion for music (especially Canadian music) to an audience, Alain Trudel joins the ranks of fellow Heinz Unger winners, a group which includes notable figures such as Kenneth Hsieh, Stéphane Laforest and Paul Andreas Mahr. The prize is awarded by the Ontario Arts Council.
As a conductor, Trudel notes the fine balance of keeping a concert fresh and exciting while still performing a piece the way the composer intended it to be played. He is happy that Canada has a way of recognizing the hard work that conductors do to engage listeners with music.
Alain Trudel: Master of Many Orchestras
Trudel's conducting engagements have led him all over Canada: in 1990, he founded the Ensemble de cuivres philharmonia in Montreal and in 1991, he conducted at the Scotia Festival of Music. After conducting and playing in England, he moved westward again. In 2004, he became the conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. In 2006, he moved still more westward to become the principal conductor of the CBC Vancouver Orchestra.
Musician, Composer, Teacher
Alain Trudel is not only a conductor, but also an accomplished and highly regarded trombonist, with a world-traveled performing career. He has played with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Deutsche-Symphony and the Austrian Radio Orchestra. He has also appeared at Carnegie Hall and the Conservatoire National Supérieure de Paris. He has recorded several albums of trombone music.
Not surprisingly, Trudel has composed music for his instrument (the trombone), as well as works scored for piano, string quartet and orchestra. His compositions include Passage, a work for accordion and trombone, and Heavy Metal, a work for solo trumpet and wind band.
Trudel also taught at the Conservatoire de Musique du Québec and at the Glenn Gould Professional Music School (Royal Conservatory of Music).
As the award suggests, Trudel is known for his engaging and varied programs, conducting everything from the Baroque to the avant-garde.
Sources
"Trudel, Alain." The Encyclopedia of Music in Canada.
"Alain Trudel, Conductor." Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra website bio.
"Quebec-born Trudel Wins Conductor's Prize." May 9, 2008. CBC News.
