Trumpet

Charles Watson

Ontario, 25 years old

Charles Watson is a trumpeter from Ottawa. He earned his Bachelor of Music from the University of Toronto in 2020, studying under Barton Woomert. Since then, he has held the position of second trumpet with the Canadian Opera Company.

He has performed with ensembles such as the National Arts Centre (NAC) Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre symphonique de Québec, and the Kingston Symphony, where he notably served as guest principal. He has also played with the Esprit Orchestra, and the Hannaford Street Silver Band (HSSB). As a freelancer, he has participated in various chamber music, orchestral, and opera concerts, and has also performed as a soloist.

In 2020, Charles Watson was a semifinalist in the OSM Competition. The previous year, he placed third in the NAC Orchestra Bursary Competition and won the Hannaford Youth Rising Stars Solo Competition, which provided him with the opportunity to perform as a soloist with the HSSB. He is an alumnus of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (2019 and 2020), the Orchestre de la francophonie (2021), and the National Academy Orchestra (2024). Watson has performed multiple times at Domaine Forget, including with Les Violons du Roy. His other musical interests include sacred polyphony and Gregorian chant.