Indigenous Artist

Born in Rouyn-Noranda Quebec, Roger is Ojibway from Pic River First Nation. He studied trumpet performance and conducting at Cambrian College in Sudbury and York University in Toronto. He was the president of the Aboriginal Student Association at York and established the first pow-wow at YorkU. He was also a musician in the regimental band of the Queen's Own Rifles of Canada. Interested in the administrative side, he was the general manager for the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra. In October 2015, he toured his home region of Abitibi-Temiscamingue, playing the Neruda trumpet concerto with the Ensemble Aiguebelle. Roger received scholarships from the National Aboriginal Achievement Foundation, was awarded the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal for his services to Canada, and in 2019 received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Quebec Council for Arts and Letters. Roger is the artistic director and conductor of his brass ensemble, L'Ensemble Hochelaga, in Montreal.

INDIGENOUS ANCESTRY

First Nations

SELF-IDENTIFICATION

Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation