You often see a joke on social media featuring a child playing the recorder: “Good thing I learned to play the recorder in elementary school. I can’t count the number of times it’s come in handy in my adult life.”

For Alain Desgagné, that statement is anything but a joke—it perfectly reflects his journey. From the age of nine, his passion for the recorder was so intense that his parents sometimes had to ask him to stop playing. This early curiosity for wind instruments eventually led him to the clarinet, whose warm sound immediately won him over.

Trained at the Conservatoire de musique du Québec and Northwestern University, he benefited from world-class instruction. His professional career began in Western Canada, first with the Victoria Symphony and then the Winnipeg Symphony, before gradually bringing him back to Quebec.

Since 2001, Alain has held the position of Associate Principal Clarinet with the Orchestre symphonique de Montréal, while also serving as an Associate Professor at McGill University. Every summer, he shares his passion with young musicians through the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and the PRISMA Festival in British Columbia.