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In Profile
For one weekend in March of last year, Edmonton music teacher Audrey Ochoa traded her music room at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic School for Rogers Arena in Vancouver, the site of the 2025 JUNO Awards.
Her fourth album The Head of a Mouse was nominated for Solo Jazz Album of the Year.
“You're in a room full of your peers and it was this enormous event. But I was very anxious because I thought, ‘Well, I kind of wanted to win’,” she said.
She didn’t win, but she did achieve a personal milestone.
“My goal was always to be a good trombone player. So award, no award…I think I’ve checked that off my list now.”
Music and teaching run in Ochoa’s blood. Her parents were big on the Edmonton music scene, her father Romeo playing trumpet and her mother Phyllis the accordion. Both mostly “gigged around town,” said Ochoa. Romeo was also a band teacher.
“The concept of a working musician was in my household already, and so both of them encouraged all three of us (kids) to take music lessons. Because of the family element, we took it seriously, this notion of wanting to be good at it as a matter of family pride,” said Ochoa.
With her sisters choosing saxophone and flute, and not wanting to be compared to her father’s trumpet prowess, Ochoa settled on the trombone stashed away in the family basement. Thanks to school and city enrichment programs, it didn’t take her long to master her instrument. By Grade 12, she was being called to perform in bands, and paid $100 per gig.
“I really wanted to be a musician, but…my dad's logic…and my mom's logic was, ‘If you want to play something, no one’s stopping you from playing, but could you also get a degree?’” recalled Ochoa. “It just worked out. It was a perfect program where I would end up with an education degree and could still study music.”
Ochoa was already giving private lessons and teaching music at Alberta College while she was earning a bachelor of education degree from the University of Alberta. It was a natural fit.
When Ochoa began her teaching career 15 years ago, she taught part time so she could pursue her career as a trombone player. She was granted unpaid leave to perform on numerous occasions and “was able to make it work.”
Last school year, after seven years of teaching band, elementary music choral, ukelele and recorder at Father Michael Mireau school, Ochoa left to conduct a string orchestra at St. Thomas Aquinas. It was a unique opportunity to venture away from the usual woodwind, brass and percussion bands.
To help with the switch, Ochoa took violin lessons and joined a small community adult orchestra.
“I think I could speak a little more clearly to students and understand some of the beginner pitfalls in a way that, being 20 years away from being a beginner trombone player, I'd forgotten,” she said.
Ochoa has fun arranging the popular songs her students like, so it’s easy for them to play at the level they are at.
In turn, she’s constantly learning from her students, who introduce her to new music, new artists and new technologies.
“I'm familiar with basic recording interfaces and different programs, but there's constantly new apps, constantly new music technologies they show me which I am either able to use in the classroom or I'm able to use myself. That's a great part of teaching.”
Ochoa was not the only Edmonton musician to snag 2025 JUNO nods. Local nominees represented a wide variety of genres including reggae, traditional Indigenous, metal, blues, classical and children’s album.
“The Edmonton music scene is extremely diverse, and I love making music here,” said Ochoa. “You can play on a children's album and then go do a jazz show and then play in a pit band for a musical.”
Ochoa has played trombone in Canadian jazz festivals for 15 years, including multiple appearances in Montreal, Vancouver and Ottawa, as well as the jazzahead! Festival in Bremen, Germany in 2022. She appeared with the Dave Matthews Band in 2022 and was a featured guest with Grammy award–winning, University of North Texas One O’Clock Lab Band, alongside saxophonist Chris Potter and jazz legend Marcus Miller in 2018.
Having performed in numerous other cities, Ochoa says the size of Edmonton is perfect for “the broad skill set” and advantages it offers musicians.
“Being excellent at something or being recognized for music, it's not like something far away. It's locally possible, and I just hope that the students see that.”
How did you first react when your parents suggested you pursue a degree as well as a performing career?
My older sister had also gone into education at that point, and she was a total role model for me as well. It wasn’t a power struggle. I was 18 and didn’t understand what post-secondary was or what was required to be a jobbing musician. No band leader asks to see your music degree. I was just excited for an experience that included trombone lessons and performance opportunities, so I was grateful. I’m grateful they had knowledge of both careers so I could make an informed decision.
Can you explain your transition from player to band leader, and how common that is for a trombonist?
I would think it’s pretty common for any trombonist or musician who has their own compositions or opinions and would like to make decisions about how they’re presented on a stage. Being a sideman means you’re hired to facilitate the artistic vision of whoever hired you. I'm honoured anytime someone hires me, but I have opinions and curiosities and realized that the responsibility of being in charge was really appealing. My first gig as band leader was in 2005—I’ve never looked back.
What is the significance of the album title The Head of a Mouse?
My dad used to tell me “It’s better to be the head of a mouse than the tail of a lion.” He wanted me to lead my own projects under my own name and have a musical identity,
no matter how small.
You’ve crossed “be a good trombone player” off your list. What’s next?
I’ve started singing on albums and gigs. It’s terrifying. So, being a singer?
What is your favourite trombone player joke?
How do you know which kid in the playground is a trombonist? Just look for the one who can’t swing and doesn’t know how to use the slide.
