Hugues Tremblay was introduced to music by learning to play the violin in elementary school at École Le Plateau. At the age of 14, he caught the percussion “bug” after hearing timpanist Louis Charbonneau perform in concert. He went on to pursue studies in Montreal with Paul Fortin, Guy Lachapelle, Marie-Josée Simard and Serge Desgagnés, who is also a member of the OSM. His fondest musical memories include a tour with the Jeunesses Musicales World Orchestra in 1998—the same year he first performed with the OSM in Stravinsky’s Les noces, and his first time performing the snare drum part in Ravel’s Bolero with the Orchestra in 2014. Hugues recalls first meeting Maestro Nagano in 1999, when he congratulated him backstage after he had conducted a performance of Mahler’s Symphony no. 9.