Antoine Mailloux was not born into a musical family, and he didn’t particularly like music in elementary school either. At the small Asbestos high school where he studied, there were two music lessons per nine-day cycle.
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“The first class, I arrived backwards,” he says. The teacher demonstrated the instruments, I thought the trumpet sounded good, I decided to take that. » The name of this teacher: Sébastien Roux, and he wants to pay tribute to him.
He was so warm and welcoming and charismatic and good with the students, he made them want to practice.
Antoine Mailloux
Against all expectations, the boy discovers an interest in the trumpet. He often brings his instrument home to rehearse more, and Sébastien Roux quickly notices his progress. “He then offered me private lessons at lunchtime. He charged $10, we agree, it wasn’t a lot to pay! »
At the end of high school, his teacher suggested that he join the Sherbrooke bugle corps during the summer, an experience that would allow him to tour the United States for 24 days. “It was intense and rewarding. Afterwards, even though it was for the older kids, he asked me to join the school’s stage band. »
-One day, Sébastien Roux brings a group of students to the Maison symphonique in Montreal, to attend an OSM concert. For Antoine, it’s a revelation.
It was my first ever experience of a symphony concert. I remember, I was sitting on the balcony and, when the orchestra tuned up, I found it so beautiful that I said to myself: I can’t do anything else in my life.
Antoine Mailloux
Subsequently, Antoine Mailloux studied music at CEGEP, then at the Conservatory where he continued to meet “exciting and generous teachers”. In 2023, he won the Orchester Métropolitain audition, received tenure and was appointed principal trumpet. When we ask him if he would be a musician today if he had not crossed paths with Sébastien Roux, Antoine is moved. “There’s a good chance not.” »
Precision
An earlier version of this text incorrectly identified Sébastien Roux as Sébastien Groulx.
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