At the beginning of his musical career, Étienne Asselin dedicated most of his time to the
trumpet. Having graduated from the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal under the
tutelage of Manon Lafrance, Étienne was making a place for himself on the local scene.
However, he found a new passion for early music that led him to Study cornett performance
with Matthew Jennejohn at McGill University. Between 2015 and 2019, Étienne has
performed with multiple Canadian and American ensembles such as the Toronto Consort,
Trinity Baroque Orchestra, ¡Sacabuche!, Ensemble Caprice, le Studio de Musique Ancienne
de Montréal.
Pursuing his new path, Étienne then moved to Switzerland where he studied cornetto with
Frithjof Smith at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. After successfully completing a master’s
degree, he remained in Europe while performing for many renowned ensembles. Among
the most notable are Concentus Musicus, La Cetra, the Netherlands Bach Society and the
Bayerische Staatsoper.