Kathryn Knowles is a composer, cellist, conductor, and writer from Inverary, Ontario and currently based in Toronto, Ontario. Selected as a 2023-24 Composer Fellow with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, her composition, A Strange and Preposterous Affair, was commissioned and premiered by the HPO in October 2023. In 2019, she was chosen to participate in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Explore the Score Reading Session. She has been commissioned and performed by soloists and groups including Slowrise Music, Vc2 Cello Duo, Joseph Petric, and Martin Carpentier. Her piece, Biarc, for Accordion and Clarinet was premiered in April 2022 and streamed through the Canadian Music Centre. She is currently collaborating with pianist, composer, and singer, Morgan-Paige Melbourne, to write a musical titled Between Fires, funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Kathryn regularly performs as a cellist in various chamber ensembles around Toronto. In 2022, she performed at the Oshawa Music Awards with Juno-nominated singer-songwriter, Lindsay Schoolcraft. She is an active session musician recording tracks for Lindsay Schoolcraft’s album Lovelorn and Hopesick, and recording with the Juno-winning band, OKAN. The album, Okantomi, won the 2024 Juno award for Global Music Album of the Year.
Kathryn received honourable mention in the Writer’s Digest 89th Annual Writing Competition for her poem, Beyond the Black Horizon’s Crease, and her short story, Lester’s Bird Feeder. Her debut fantasy trilogy, The Quiescence Trilogy, is available for purchase. Book one, The Relics of Illayan, book two, The Warrior Queen, and book three, The Age of Resonance. Her first poetry book, These Gossamer Recollections was released in December 2024.
Kathryn is interested in multidisciplinary artistic exchange, and in exploring the creative process. She holds a Bachelor of Music and a Master of International Business from Queen’s University, as well as a Master in Music Composition from the University of Toronto where she was awarded the Joseph Armand Bombardier Canadian Graduate Scholarship. During her time at U of T, Kathryn initiated and led the creation of an annual interdisciplinary conference to showcase artistic creation-based research known as the Multidisciplinary Creative Conference.
In addition to her work as a composer and writer, Kathryn is a passionate music educator and community-builder. She worked for ten years with El Sistema-inspired organizations in Canada, free after-school music and social development programs for children living in underserved communities. Kathryn whole-heartedly believes that learning music should be fun and accessible to all. Now, she works as a Development Officer with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, the Music Director of Music4Life String Orchestra, and the Founder of Mad Endeavour. She is an advocate for artistic expression as a means to promote social change.
Kathryn Knowles 