Raymond Baril is Associate Professor of Music and Chair of the Department of Music at MacEwan University. He is in his 24th season as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Edmonton Winds. He was the Director of the MacEwan University Jazz Ensemble for 37 seasons. For six seasons he served as the musical director of the River City Big Band. Raymond remains a much sought after national clinician and adjudicator as well as a featured guest speaker at music education conferences across the country.
Raymond continues to work as one of Edmonton’s busiest saxophonists and is in demand as a woodwind specialist for pit orchestras in local and touring productions. He was a regular member of the Tommy Banks Big Band for 25 years and has appeared with the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra on numerous occasions as an orchestra member and soloist, and as a guest conductor.
Raymond holds a graduate degree in conducting from Northwestern University, undergraduate degrees in both performance and education from the University of Alberta. In 2018 Raymond was inducted in the Edmonton’s Cultural Hall of Fame. In 2016 he was recognized with a Distinguished Teaching Award from MacEwan University. In the past, he has been the recipient of many awards for his contribution to music and music education from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, the Alberta Band Association, Edmonton Public Schools District Service Award and from Alberta Learning.
