LCC Music Conservatory

NOTE: Lessons for the 2020-2021 academic year are virtual.

Music lessons are offered to all LCC students - from kindergarten to Pre-U - and to LCC alumni.

Lessons on woodwind, brass and percussion instruments, piano, guitar, bass guitar, violin, as well as voice, will be offered weekdays and Saturdays. An impressive group of professional musicians responds to the individual needs of students and lessons can be planned on a weekly basis or less frequently.

Inquiries: Scott Cheyne or 514-482-9797, ext. 519.

Brent Besner

An active member of Canada’s musical scene for the past 15 years, Brent Besner is a graduate of McGill University and Université de Montréal. He is the winner of the Debut: Young Artist Series and the Prix d’Europe, where he won the Canadian Music Centre Prize by unanimous decision. He was awarded the Merrill Lynch Foundation Fellowship in 2006 and the Evelyn S. Nef Foundation Fellowship in 2007 to participate at the Tanglewood Music Center of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Besner performs regularly with diverse chamber music ensembles and on the solo stage. He has notably been soloist with the Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra, the Contemporary Ensemble and the Clarinet Choir of McGill University, the 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron Band and the Seaway Winds Concert Band.

In the past years, Mr. Besner performed with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, as well as the Laval, Trois-Rivières, Drummondville, Sherbrooke, Longueuil Symphony Orchestras, and the Hamilton Ballet Orchestra. He has collaborated with contemporary music ensembles, such as the Aventa Ensemble, the New Fromm Players, the Kore Ensemble, and Ensemble Contemporain de Montréal. His interest in choral singing has led him to perform as a member of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra Chorus, at Carnegie Hall. He also participated in Tanglewood’s opera production of Cosí fan tutte as a member of the chorus, under the direction of Maestro James Levine.

Paul Carter

As a multi-instrumentalist specializing in saxophones, flutes, clarinets, oboes, and bassoons, Paul Carter plays in numerous musical theatre pits, recording studios, rock, folk, pop, funk, soul, R&B, hip hop and big bands across the country. Mr. Carter has recorded for Walt Disney and Atlantic Records and worked alongside award winning artists Alan Menken, Austin Pendleton, Michel Tremblay, Benny Golson, Cleo Laine and François Dompierre. Mr. Carter teaches all woodwind instruments at Lower Canada College.

Michael Cartile

Michael Cartile has distinguished himself as one of the finest lead trumpet players in North America. He has played lead trumpet with such legends as Dizzy Gillespie, Mel Torme, Natalie Cole, Slide Hampton, Zoot Sims, Burt Bacharach and Celine Dion. Mr. Cartile has played first trumpet in Les Miserables, The Phantom of the Opera, Chicago, Fiddler on the Roof, West Side Story, Grease, The King and I, Annie, Singin' in the Rain and Anne of Green Gables. In studio, he has played on the soundtracks of the movies Barney’s Version, The Audrey Hepburn Story, The Family and P.T. Barnum. Mr. Cartile has worked extensively on television, radio, and studio recording sessions for Cirque de Soleil. He was lead trumpet player of the renowned Vic Vogel Jazz Band of Montreal and has performed in the Montreal Jazz Festival for over 30 years. Mr. Cartile is professor of trumpet at Concordia University and teaches at Lower Canada College.

Trevor Dix

Trevor Dix was appointed principal bass trombonist with the Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal in 2001 by Yannick Nezet-Seguin. In addition to teaching low brass at Lower Canada College, he has been a faculty member of the Schulich School of Music of McGill University since 2002 acting as a professor of trombone and course lecturer for the music research department. He has performed with such groups as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Malaysian Philharmonic in Kuala Lumpur, and under noted conductors such as Zubin Mehta, Eliahu Inbal, Franz Paul Decker, and Kent Nagano. As an early music specialist, he performs on sackbut with La Rose des Vents, Les Soneurs, the Studio Musique Ancienne de Montréal, Les Voix Baroque, Pacific Music Works of Seattle, and the Montreal Baroque Festival. Mr. Dix is heard regularly on CBC radio and has recorded for the CD labels Atma, Analekta, BIS, CBC, Justin Time, and Nonesuch.

Lorraine Pitre

Lorraine Pitre has taught clarinet and saxophone for over 30 years. She attended McGill University in music performance, studying clarinet with Michael Dumouchel of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and saxophone with the late Gerald Danovitch. Ms. Pitre plays in various pickup orchestras in the Montreal area and is the saxophone player for The Six Wing Combo cocktail/wedding band. She is also the director of the third session of Camp Musical d’Asbestos in addition to teaching saxophone and clarinet at Lower Canada College.

Robert Slapcoff

Robert Slapcoff is widely sought after as a percussionist and teacher and has had a long, varied, and successful career as both. He currently teaches percussion at Vanier College and Lower Canada College. For 20 years, he recorded, toured and performed extensively with the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Currently, he is principal percussionist with the Orchestre des Grands Ballets Canadiens and plays with many ensembles, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra.

Nadia Sparrow

Nadia Sparrow has been teaching music for over 16 years and is a professional flutist, music teacher and concert band clinician residing in the Montreal area. She has experience in teaching children and adults of all ages and is able to adapt music lessons to individual students' needs. Ms. Sparrow holds a bachelor of music performance in flute from the University of Calgary and a master of music in flute performance - solo from McGill University. She is currently the vice president of the Quebec Band Association. Ms. Sparrow has been awarded the prestigious Calgary Kiwanis Music Festival Rose Bowl and Rose Bowl Scholarship as well as the Austrian Canadian Mozart Society Scholarship. She was invited to study at Worcester College in Oxford, England, with the highly acclaimed flutist and teacher, Peter Lloyd. Ms. Sparrow also holds a bachelor of education specializing in music from McGill University, where she was given the opportunity to focus her teaching on concert band. She is considered to be a woodwind specialist. In addition to her current teaching career, Ms. Sparrow continues to perform professionally with various chamber ensembles as well as the Royal Canadian Air Force with the 438 Tactical Helicopter Squadron Band in St. Hubert, Quebec. Ms. Sparrow currently holds the post of artist in residence at Lower Canada College where she is the woodwind specialist for the Middle and Senior School concert band programs.

Michael Wilson

Michael Wilson has been a professional trombonist and euphonium player since graduating from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal in 1975. He is a founding member of the Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal, the Griffon Brass Band, and is also a member of the Vic Vogel Jazz Band. He has performed with organizations such as the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, the National Arts Orchestra, McGill Chamber Orchestra, and I Musici. He has also performed with such solo artists as Dizzy Gillespie, Diana Krall, Celine Dion, Rene Fleming, Luciano Pavarotti and Barbra Streisand. Mr. Wilson teaches at Vanier College, Concordia University and Lower Canada College.

Band Instruments

(Bassoon, Clarinet, Euphonium, Flute, French Horn, Percussion, Oboe, Saxophone, Trombone, Trumpet, Tuba)

Monday - Friday, from 3:30 pm – 8:30 pm
Saturday, from 9 am – 4 pm

Bass Guitar

Tuesday, 3 pm – 8:30 pm

Guitar

Tuesday, from 3 pm – 8:30 pm

Piano  

Monday - Friday, from 3 pm – 8:30 pm

Violin 

Thursday, 3 pm – 8:30 pm

Voice

Wednesday, 3 pm – 8:30 pm

Note: The 3 pm time slot is reserved for kindergarten, grade 1 & 2 ONLY. All other grades and alumni may sign up for lessons from 3:30 pm onward.

For the 2020-21 academic year

$60 per hour
$35 per half hour

Students: Fees are charged to your LCC account.
Alumni: Fees are payable by cheque.

 

Lessons on woodwind, brass and percussion instruments, piano, guitar, bass guitar, violin, as well as voice, are offered weekdays and Saturdays. Please refer to the schedule under the Days & Times tab.

Rates for the 2019-20 academic year are $60/hour and $35 for a 30-minute session. Lessons can be set up to suit your individual needs, be it infrequently or weekly.

• Note that we cannot accept children of alumni at this time.
• If your children are currently LCC students and you are registering on their behalf, please complete one form per child in your household.
• Mandatory fields are marked with an asterisk.

LCC Music Conservatory Coordinator: Mr. Scott Cheyne

Sign up here.