Montreal fiddler Alexis Chartrand has traced a singular path across the Québécois traditional music scene. « Known for his pensive reworkings of Québécois fiddle tunes » (Songlines), he has pioneered the use of baroque violin and bows for the interpretation of this repertoire.

His partnership with multi-instrumentalist and sound engineer Nicolas Babineau has led to the release of three albums, and to many concerts in Québec, Canada, the United States and Sweden. Hailed in 2019 as « two must-hears of Québécois traditional music » (Penguin Eggs), their 2024 collaboration with Nicolas Ellis and Orchestre de l’Agora « was a revelation and an intense emotional shock » (Le Devoir).

Alexis has collaborated with Compagnie Danse Cadence and Productions Des Pieds Des Mains, exploring the connection between music and dance. He has deepened these explorations of folk and contemporary sounds and gestures with percussive dancers Nic Gareiss, Antoine Turmine and Mélissandre Tremblay-Bourassa. 

Alexis has released duo albums with multi-instrumentalists Colin Savoie-Levac (Rosier) and Cédric Dind-Lavoie (Archives). He has shared the stage with guitarists Yann Falquet (Genticorum) and Peter Senn, pianists Rachel Aucoin (Maréemusique) and Benoît Legault, and performed as a soloist with ensembles such as Les Boréades de Montréal, Thirteen Strings and Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. 

Alexis’ research into the intersections between traditional and baroque violin styles has been supported by the Canada Council for the Arts, the Montréal Arts Council and the Centre des Musiciens du Monde. His teaching has been appreciated at CAMMAC, Sutton Traditional Fiddle Festival (Québec), Boxwood Festival (Nova Scotia) and Carleton University (Ontario), among others, where he has given workshops on fiddle, quebecois traditional repertoire and folk music history.

Website: https://www.agchartrand.com/bio