04/15/2022
Adjudicator Bio:
Katrina MacKinnon is a pianist, piano teacher, chorister, and choral director hailing from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, where she studied piano and voice with Dianne Gryba. Katrina obtained a Master of Music Degree in Piano Performance from the University of Alberta in June of 2020 under the supervision of Dr. Patricia Tao. As a part of her degree, she studied piano pedagogy and literature. She was awarded the prestigious SSHRC grant from the Government of Canada for her research project exploring intermediate-level piano concerti using Eastern European folk idioms. While at the U of A, Katrina was the accompanist for the 2018/19 choral conducting lab choir and was a TA for first year music theory. Katrina holds a Bachelor of Music Degree (2018) from McGill University where she studied under Dr. Julia Gavrilova. Additionally, she holds the ARCT diploma in piano performance, first class honours with distinction, from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. While at McGill, Katrina completed a minor in music theory. She occupied the position of music director at McGill’s Newman Centre and choir director of the People’s Church of Montreal. Katrina has participated as a young artist at the Orford Summer Academy of Music and the Tuckamore Chamber Music Festival. Katrina is an active pianist in Saskatoon, having most recently performed a duo piano concert with TerriLynn Mitchell at the
Bassment.
As a singer, Katrina is a passionate chorister. She is currently a member of the Saskatoon Chamber Choir. In the fall of 2021, she had the pleasure of working with the Saskatoon Children’s Choir as they resumed rehearsals after an 18-month hiatus. While at the U of A, Katrina sang with the award-winning ensemble the University of Alberta Madrigal Singers. At McGill, she sang with the Schulich Singers, McGill’s elite chamber choir, and the Concert Choir. She also appeared as a soprano in concert with the Montreal professional choir Voces Boreales. In the summer of 2018, she represented the province of Quebec in the National Youth Choir of Canada. Katrina runs a busy private piano studio in Saskatoon, SK. She is passionate about high quality music teaching and continued professional development. Moreover, she belongs to the Saskatchewan Registered Music Teachers’ Association and serves as the secretary of the Saskatoon branch. One of her most inspiring teaching experiences has been instructing at the Saskatoon Summer Academy for Voice and Piano (SAVP) since the summer of 2017. Through SAVP, she has received mentorship from exceptional teachers with decades of experience, as well as a chance to see the benefits of collaboration and community for young musicians. Katrina strives to help her students develop into independent pianists who love music, while fostering a caring and community-minded studio. She is thrilled to be in Maple Creek for the first time and is looking forward to hearing all the young musicians perform.
