Biography
About
Composed of Nathan Bredeson, Alex Bougie and François Lacelle, The Ottawa Guitar Trio has made it their mission to highlight the accessibility and relatability of instrumental music to modern audiences.
Each of them prolific arrangers, the trio thrives in challenging themselves to authentically adapt a wide array of repertoire spanning from movie soundtracks, video game compilations as well as the classical music canon. They also pride themselves in showcasing pieces by local as well as up-and-coming composers who are furthering the guitar ensemble medium.
Making their debut in the summer of 2018, the trio has taken part in concert series for the Ottawa Chamberfest's Chamber Pints series, the Ottawa Guitar Society, the Guitar Alla Grande festival, as well as the Federal Government of Canada and have performed in venues such as Rideau Hall, the Ontario Art Gallery, and Dominion Chalmers United, among others. They have also been featured on CBC's "In Town and Out" as well as Radio Canada's "Les malins".
Alex Bougie
Alexandre Bougie is an accomplished guitarist from the Ottawa region who wishes to transmit his love of music and guitar through both teaching and performance. His strong passion for the instrument compelled him to graduate from his Bachelor’s (magna cum laude) and Master’s degree in classical guitar performance under the tutelage of renowned performer and composer Patrick Roux.
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Throughout his career, Alex has amassed a wealth of experience as an arranger, musical director, and by performing both as accompanist and soloist in the domain of classical music, musical theatre, as well as popular styles of music and jazz in Canada and the United States.
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As an instructor, Alex has given workshops in composition, performance, and music history for the University of Ottawa, and Franco-Ontarian organizations and school boards such as the FESFO, MIFO, and the CEPEO.
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Today, Alex actively performs in diverse settings and devotes himself to his students in workshops and his teaching studio.
Nathan Bredeson
Nathan Bredeson is an award-winning guitarist and composer, and a featured artist in CBC Music’s “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30 in 2018.”
Nathan studied guitar with members of the Canadian Guitar Quartet at the University of Ottawa, and composition with John Armstrong and Frederic Lacroix. He completed a Master’s Degree with Rene Izquierdo at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee.
Nathan’s compositions and arrangements have won awards in international competitions, including the Miami International GuitArt Festival and the Great Lakes Guitar Festival. He won first place in the 2015 Sharon Lynne Wilson Center Guitar Competition and his piece Astral Projection won first prize in the Ottawa Guitar Society’s Composition Competition in 2016.
In addition to his accomplishments with the Ottawa Guitar Trio, Nathan also co-founded the Made in Canada Duo with guitarist Michael Ibsen in 2019. Their debut tour across southwestern Ontario promoted new works for guitar by living Canadian composers. He released his first solo album, Nocturne, in September 2019.
Nathan has performed concerts across Canada, the United States, and Japan. He has given masterclasses and workshops for organizations such as Guitar Hamilton, the Guitar Alla Grande Festival, and the Eckhardt-Gramatte Conservatory, and has adjudicated for the Kiwanis Music Festival, and MusicFest Canada. He currently lives in Ottawa, ON, where he teaches guitar and music theory for Ottawa Suzuki Strings, and serves as Artistic Director for the Ottawa Guitar Society.
François Lacelle
François Lacelle is a classical guitarist, teacher and arranger from the Ottawa/Gatineau region. Originating from Temiscaming, he started out as a self-taught musician at the age of 14 before formally pursuing classical guitar at Cambrian College in 2007 where he studied with guitarist Philip Candelaria. He later completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in classical guitar performance at the University of Ottawa under the tutelage of Patrick Roux.
François is an active performer in Ottawa as a member of the Ottawa Guitar Trio. As an arranger, he has contributed dozens of arrangements to the classical guitar repertoire ranging from classical music to popular music in movies and video games.
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He now lives in Gatineau, Hull where he teaches in his private studio.
