Interview with Conrad Askland – Bandleader and Keyboardist for Cirque du Soleil

Interview with Conrad Askland about his work as Bandleader and Keyboardist for Cirque du Soleil. Original article at: https://stereostickman.com/interviews/conrad-askland/

Taking time out from his busy schedule, Music Director and Ableton Live specialist Conrad Askland – currently touring the globe with the iconic Cirque du Soleil – kindly stopped by for an interview.

We talk everything from discovering his unique role in music, to achieving high-profile opportunities, writing music, staying inspired, building a presence on YouTube, the value of collaboration, and the lure of ambition. Here’s the conversation in full.

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Conrad – excited to talk with you, thanks for the opportunity! To introduce things, how would you describe your role within the music world?

On live shows I work as a music director and conductor/keyboardist, and in music publishing I work as a music producer and composer. I am also an Ableton Live specialist, which is music software used in many live show performances.

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Crystal by Cirque du Soleil – Photos from Portland, Oregon shows

Photos from our run in Portland Oregon (May 2025) with the Cirque du Soleil ice-skating show Crystal at the Veterans Memorial Arena. I’ve been looking forward all year to visiting Portland, Oregon and it did not disappoint! Voodoo Donuts, vibrant nightclub scene, street art and the wacky crazy street life that makes people say “Keep Portland Weird”. (Photo above is my bandleader station at Crystal)

This is our second-to-the-last run of Cirque du Soleil’s Crystal show as we wrap up the Crystal world tour. In the last three years we performed across 5 continents and it was the experience of a lifetime. Much love to our cast and crew as we prepare to move on to our next adventures, and of course much love to the wonderful Crystal audiences worldwide that made this Cirque du Soleil show such a monumental success. Thank you!

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Crystal by Cirque du Soleil – Photos from Kelowna, Canada

As the Cirque du Soleil ice-skating show Crystal nears the end of its 6 year world tour, here are some behind-the-scenes and show photos from our run in Kelowna, Canada in May 2025. Performing with this show as bandleader and accordion has been an absolute pleasure with such wonderful cast and crew. This has been my third show with Cirque du Soleil. We performed across 5 continents for well over a million people. The adrenalin performances and travels across the world have been absolutely amazing. Thank you to Tegan Klein for the wonderful photos!

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Cirque du Soleil CRYSTAL – Christmas 2023 in Montreal, Canada

Yes, that’s me (Conrad Askland) sitting at the ice piano during a performance of the Cirque du Soleil show CRYSTAL. (Photo by Caroline Thibault)

We just finished a wonderful two weeks performing in Montreal, Canada over Christmas with the Cirque du Soleil show CRYSTAL. Not only were the audiences wonderful to perform for, the cast of Crystal also got a private tour of the Cirque du Soleil International Headquarters in Montreal. Wonderful city. Wonderful audiences.

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Photos of Crystal by Cirque du Soleil in Malaga, Spain

Photos by Hugo Cortes of Crystal by Cirque du Soleil in Malaga, Spain in December 2022. This is in the middle of our European Tour of Cirque du Soleil’s only ice-skating touring show “Crystal”. A couple shots in here of me playing accordion on stage during the Malaga, Spain run. Thank you Hugo Cortes for the wonderful live photos of our Cirque du Soleil performance!

Photos of Crystal show by Cirque du Soleil in Frankfurt, Germany 2022

Photos from our Frankfurt, Germany run of Cirque du Soleil’s #Crystal ice skating show #cirquedusoleilcrystal #cirquedusoleil #frankfurtgermany #iceskate #iceskaters

Thank you so much to our German audiences for being so much fun. It has been a thrill to play with the musicians on the wonderful Cirque du Soleil music score to Crystal (Music by Maxim Lepage). The ice skaters and acrobats never cease to amaze me with their beautiful ice skating and circus stunts

Photos by Jan Heesch @janheesch

Varekai Band 2017

Musicians from the Cirque du Soleil Varekai band taken June 2017 in Vilnius, Lithuania by Gabrielus Jauniskis.

From left to right: David Piché (violin), Conrad Askland (bandleader and keyboards), Mikey Hachey (bass), Isabelle Corradi (singer), Jamieson Lindenberg (singer), Damion Corideo (percussion), Jose Manuel Pizarro Carmona (winds) and Paul James Bannerman (drums).

It is an absolute pleasure to work with this group of musicians!

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