Short Bio
Carlos Foggin is a Calgary-based organist, pianist, conductor, and composer. He holds a Master of Music from the University of Calgary and is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists.
He is Founder and Music Director of the Marquis Chamber Orchestra and Music Director Laureate of the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, which he led from its founding in 2016 to 2025, shaping its artistic vision through orchestral, choral, chamber, and collaborative programming.
As a composer, his works include The Litany of St. Joseph, written in 2025 to commemorate the 400th anniversary of St. Joseph's patronage of Canada and presented to Pope Leo XIV.
He is a PhD student in the University of Calgary's Transdisciplinary Research program, where his work bridges music, religion, and ritual studies. His research explores the transmission of ritual knowledge in contemporary Catholic worship through Gregorian chant and organ improvisation.
Mr. Foggin is a recipient of the Alberta Emerging Artist Award, and the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal.
(164 words)
This biography supersedes all previous versions and is current as of July 2026.
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Longer Biography
Carlos Foggin is a Calgary-based organist, pianist, conductor, and composer. He holds a Master of Music in Organ Performance from the University of Calgary and is a Fellow of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, Canada’s oldest musicians’ association. He was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal in 2022, and formerly recognized with a Alberta Emerging Artist Award by the Lieutenant Governor of Alberta in 2020.
Carlos is the Founder & Music Director Laureate of the Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra, serving as Music Director from 2016-2025, collaborating with esteemed soloists such as James Campbell CM, Glen Montgomery, Stephen Nguyen, Magdalena von Eccher, and Kathleen van Mourik, to name a few. He has performed extensively both live and broadcast, and can be heard as soloist and session musician on numerous commercial recordings.
In March 2025, his 13-movement composition Litaniae Sancti Joseph received its premiere at the Jack Singer Concert Hall in Calgary, AB in the presence of three Bishops (Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, Bishop William T. McGratton Diocese of Calgary, Bishop Gregory J. Bittman Diocese of Nelson BC). Commissioned by God Squad Canada/Heroic Men, this work is is the first-ever large-scale choral/orchestral setting of this text. On October 7, 2026, the score and recording were presented to Monsigneur Marcos Pavan (Music director of the Sistine Chapel) by Apostolic Nuncio to Canada, Archbishop Ivan Jurkovič. The score and recording were subsequently presented to Pope Leo XIV by Monsigneur Pavan.
As a pianist, Mr. Foggin has performed alongside notable international touring acts, including Il Divo and The Canadian Tenors, to name a few. He has been afforded opportunities to arrange music for and perform with noted British Military Bands including the Band of the Scots Guards.
He is currently a PhD student in the University of Calgary's Transdisciplinary Research program, where his work bridges music, religion, and ritual studies. His research explores the transmission of ritual knowledge in contemporary Catholic worship through Gregorian chant and organ improvisation.
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Honours & Awards
2026 Creativity Award in Connection, Community and Culture
(University of Calgary – Faculty of Arts). LINK2025 Music’s Future Scholar
(The Recording Industry’s Music Performance Trust Fund)2025 Classical Recording of the Year | Producer (YYC Music Awards)
2025 Professional Artist of the Year (Airdrie Mayor’s Night of the Arts)
2024 Community Ensemble of the Year | RMSO (YYC Music Awards)
2023 Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal
(Lieutenant Governor of Alberta: Salma Lakhani) LINK2020 Lieutenant Governor of Alberta Emerging Artist Award
(Lieutenant Governor of Alberta: Lois Mitchell) LINK2019 Compelling Calgarian (Calgary Herald) LINK
2016 Fellow, Royal Canadian College of Organists (FRCCO)
Nominations
2026 YYC Music Awards Classical Recording of the Year
The Litany of St. Joseph (Marquis Chamber Orchestra & Chorus)2026 YYC Music Awards Community Ensemble of the Year
The Blue Room Collective2025 YYC Music Awards Community Ensemble of the Year
The Rocky Mountain Symphony Orchestra2022 RBC Emerging Artist Award
2021 Rozsa Foundation Emerging Arts Administrator Award
2020 Alberta Artist in Residence & Arts Ambassador
Scholarships & Prizes
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Transdisciplinary Research
University of Calgary – Faculty of Graduate Studies | (2026 – Present)Fellowship – awarded full financial support to pursue research-intensive doctoral study without teaching or assistantship obligations.
Alberta Graduate Excellence Scholarship (Government of Alberta) | 2026
The Clifford McAree Scholarship (RCCO) | 2025
Professor Allan Gordon Bell Distinguished Faculty Achievement Graduate Scholarship in Music (University of Calgary) | 2025
Norman Kennedy Graduate Scholarship (University of Calgary) | 2024
Royal Canadian College of Organists – Fellowship Examination | 2016
The Willan Prize (highest overall marks nationally)
Heather Spry Prize (highest marks written section)
Doreen Porter Prize (highest marks practical section)
Anthony G. Petti Scholarship in Music (University of Calgary) 2015
F.L. Fenwick Scholarship in Music (University of Calgary) 2013 | 2014 | 2015
Jason Lang Scholarship (Government of Alberta) 2014 | 2015
Royal Canadian College of Organists – Associateship Examination | 2013
The Willan Prize (highest overall marks nationally)
Rollinson Prize (highest marks written section)
Ruth & Ralph Barker Prize (highest marks practical section)
Royal Canadian College of Organists – Colleague Examination | 2008
The Kathleen Williams Prize (highest overall marks nationally)
Reviews
Describing the experience is a challenge. A “soul-penetrating performance,” as one attendee put it, captured the essence of the moment. The feedback was overwhelmingly positive, with calls for a repeat performance and a sense of witnessing something truly historic. The lobby shimmered with an electric energy as attendees processed the profound experience.
- SL, link
The Litany [of St. Joseph] blew us away. So many Catholics from across the diocese, united with our bishop and the Papal Nuncio to Canada in honoring Saint Joseph, was a huge witness to our city, our nation, the Universal Church, and the world and a tangible reminder that we are all pilgrims of hope.”
- Maria & Ian Doll link
The musical direction by Carlos Foggin fluently encompassed the wide variety of styles
- KD, Calgary Herald
Carlos Foggin conducted the orchestra with clarity and a sense of style, making the rhythmic transitions from number to number in a secure, musical manner. [They were]...fully up to snuff.
- KD, Calgary Herald
Carlos is keenly sensitive to the musical implications of each score, and has a clear sound in his mind, which he insists on from players. His vision is broad, grand and confident; his conscious and unconscious body language conveys easily discernible musical meaning.
- JVD
Carlos brings excellent musical interpretation as well as a thorough knowledge of the score to rehearsal and performance. He is fantastic at drawing the audience into a shared experience with the orchestra. You won’t feel like you observed the concert, but rather were an important part of it, which is how it is supposed to be!
- JB
Carlos is a pleasure to work with, bringing energy and enthusiasm to everything he does. He is respectful and is not only able to take constructive criticism well but actively seeks it out in his pursuit of excellence as a musician.
- GJ