About Al Ridgway

Originally from the damp slopes of North Vancouver, Alan began his trumpet playing career as a commercial musician performing with local theater orchestras and dance bands. Inspired by the recordings of Don Ellis, Clark Terry and Chuck Mangione, he dabbled with jazz for several years before going on to earn a Bachelor degree in Performance from the University of British Columbia.

Alan came to southern Ontario to continue his studies with Ron Romm of the Canadian Brass and spent ten years teaching and freelancing in Toronto, Hamilton, Kitchener-Waterloo and St. Catherines including seven seasons with the theatre orchestra at the Stratford Festival. Cutbacks at the theatre in the early 1980's and in the industry in general, convinced Alan to move over to teaching full-time. In 1983 he went back to U.B.C. to do a year in education, a path which eventually brought him to Ottawa. He has taught music at Canterbury High School since 1989.

As well as composing and arranging, Alan has studied extensively on the Baroque trumpet. He has performed with the National Arts Centre Orchestra, the Valley Festival Orchestra, the Montreal Baroque Orchestra, the Ottawa Symphony Orchestra, the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, the Hamilton Philharmonic, the Niagara Symphony where he was principal trumpet for two seasons and the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra. Chamber music however remains his first love.