Émilie Fortin, Trumpet.
Contemporary musician.
When you were 18, what were your career aspirations and how much (if at all) did those change by the time you finished university/grad school?
I come from a small town in Quebec and 18 years old represents the Cégep entrance (2-3 years before entering university). At this time, I decided to stay in my hometown to save some money and did a double major over three years, one in music and one in humanities. We have a Conservatoire (there are 7 total in Quebec and I entered it when I was 14), so I stayed there but studied humanities to have a back-up plan. Not coming from an artistic family, studying in music seemed like a big gamble because I knew I would have to leave my town to go, at the very least, to Montreal.
I didn't have too much confidence in my trumpet playing but knew I had many interests in life This led me to musicology - which I studied for one year at the University of Montreal. I moved to Montreal in 2011, right when the big student strike took place. Moving to Montreal helped me feel part of a community, and also helped me realize how much I wanted to actually play music, and not just study and read about it. I then changed my field of study to classical performance. I tried for many years to fit into the classical mold, until I played in the Contemporary Music Ensemble during my master's degree at McGill.
This is when I realized that many of my passions (dance, theater, etc.) could be integrated to offer an amazing concert experience. I finally felt I was on my X. I wanted to be the one who will make funky sounds with her trumpet! The summer after my master's degree, I participated in four contemporary music festivals, and I knew this would become the path I'll follow. So I can say that, despite many doubts over 18 years of playing now, I never doubted I wanted to play trumpet. I know I could do well in other disciplines, but I can't picture myself doing something else outside of music. I gained confidence in my skills by discovering what I was good at, taking many detours along the way, but I don't regret anything. I feel way more confident now than when I was 18.
Over the course of your entire career to this point — but prior to the pandemic — how have you pivoted or changed career paths and why?
As I mentioned earlier, playing in CME really changed my perspective about making music. The next semester, I took a seminar on Vinko Globokar's masterpiece Laboratorium where we had the chance to work with him during a weekend and to perform the work twice. This work asks us to put our instruments in water, run around with cymbals, turn our bodies while playing... all the weird things and explorations I wanted to do!
I always had problems dealing with the high expectations that came with playing in an orchestra, and how perfection seems to be the only possible goal. I realized that the time I put into practicing excerpts, I could put into working with composers to create new repertoire for the trumpet, developing new sounds on my instrument and make people discover new pieces. It's hard because even today, winning an orchestra job is seen as the ultimate sign of success, when the fact is that people are not necessarily happier in this configuration, and it doesn't encourage you to develop your creativity. I was scared at first to specialize in contemporary music because I wanted to be seen as a versatile musician, but it came out that discovering what you're good at makes an enormous difference in being confident about your skills and enjoying your practice. Now, I'm not ashamed to not practice Mahler 5 and prefer to play split-tones instead.
What were you doing at the start of this year (2020), prior to the pandemic?
I see the path of graduating from music school to professionalization as a bridge: at first, the route seems longer and you have to hustle more, but eventually, you will be recognized in your field and people will seek you out more. In 2020, I feel I was almost done crossing this bridge. I had amazing gigs planned, like a free improvisation gig with some of my idols, one round table at UdeM where I was invited to talk about my path, and especially Darmstad, one of the most famous contemporary music festivals that happens every two years.
It was the first time where my whole semester was filled with gigs, and these were gigs that really suited me. Of course, everything fell apart.
I was also teaching in different high schools and in private - which continued online.
How has the pandemic changed your career path or goals moving forward?
There's one thing I realized for sure: how much I love performing and collaborating with people. What has changed is where I put my energy and trying to find a more balanced lifestyle. For example, the pandemic was a great opportunity to define myself outside of music. This is why I bought a great road bike and started to do more bike trips, or starting to brew my own kombucha, or developing a relationship with my neighbors who are not musicians.
At the same time, I had time to think about the future and what my work is worth. For instance, will I accept this teaching job that requires a 2h transit, or will I say no to take this time to practice and to work on my own projects instead?
This free time offered me the opportunity to register to some online workshops about entrepreneurship and I'll be able to move forward with my collective of soloists, Bakarlari, and my own collaborations with composers and performers.