Alexandra Slentz
Conductor - Violinist - Educator
Recognized for her energy, musicality, and charisma, French Canadian-born conductor, Alexandra Slentz, has been working on the musical scene in North America since 2015. She was the Music Director and Conductor of the Toronto Community Orchestra from 2017-21 (2017-18, 20-21) and was teaching Strings and Band at Branksome Hall in Toronto from 2018-21. For the 2022-23 school year, Ms. Slentz was the Orchestra Director at Forsyth Country Day school in Lewisville, NC. She holds a Bachelor of Music and a Bachelor of Education from McGill University with distinction, and a Master in Music Performance (conducting) from the University of Toronto.
Ms. Slentz worked as the assistant conductor of the University of Toronto Wind Ensemble from 2015-2017 where she also founded and conducted the University of Toronto Brass Ensemble. In 2016, she was also chosen to work with Orchestra Toronto as their assistant conductor for one of their concerts.
Ms. Slentz is known for her versatility in the musical world. As a violinist and conductor, her experience extends to both wind bands and ensembles, as well as symphonic orchestras. Prior to attending the University of Toronto, Ms. Slentz was the assistant choir director for the DOXA Choir in Terrebonne from 2012-2014, the assistant conductor for the Cercle Philharmonique de St-Jean in 2014-2015, and the student conductor for the 2014 Denis Wick Canadian Wind Orchestra. Ms. Bourque has had the opportunity to conduct the McGill Wind Symphony, the McGill Beethoven Orchestra, the Ensemble à Vents de Sherbrooke (EVS), the Royal 22e Regiment, the Orchestre à Vents Non Identifié (OVNI), and the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra.
She has participated in music symposiums across Canada and has been chosen by the University of Michigan and the New England Conservatory in Boston for their summer conducting programs in 2016. She has studied under Maestros Uri Mayer, Alexis Haüser, Alain Cazes, Dr. Jerry Luckhardt, Dr. Rob Taylor, Dr. Michael Haithcock, Dr. Charles Peltz, and Mr. Frank Battisti.
Ms. Slentz is also recognized as an acclaimed pedagogue in the musical scene. She has been teaching violin at the University of Toronto, the Collège Régina Assumpta, Le Jardin des Violons, and in her private studio. She has also been working as a music specialist for many French and English school boards in the province of Quebec. She was the Senior School Music Teacher at Holy Trinity School in Richmond Hill for the 2017-2018 academic year.
She is the recipient of five scholarships from McGill University, and the Al Mercury Scholarship from the University of Toronto. Most recently, she received the prestigious Women’s Musical Club of Toronto Foundation Graduate Fellowship for the 2016-2017 academic year.