Kathryn Knowles is a composer, cellist, conductor, and writer from Inverary, Ontario and currently based in Toronto, Ontario. Her compositions have been played in workshops by the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the New Orford String Quartet, and the Penderecki String Quartet. Her work, Biarc, commissioned by the Accordion and Clarinet Duo, Joseph Petric and Martin Carpentier, was premiered in April 2022 and streamed on the Canadian Music Centre platform, Picanto. Recently, she was commissioned by Joseph Petric to write a piece for Accordion and Electronics. The piece, Dreams of Hope, was funded by the Canada Council for the Arts and will be premiered in 2023. 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 as guest principal cellist with the Scarborough Philharmonic Orchestra, and she performed at the Oshawa Music Awards with Juno-nominated singer-songwriter, Lindsay Schoolcraft. She recently recorded tracks for an upcoming album by the Juno-winning band, OKAN set to release in 2023, as well as another album by Lindsay Schoolcraft. She continues to collaborate with Lindsay Schoolcraft on several string arrangements of her songs to be performed in 2023.
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. She has plans to release another stand-alone fantasy book, and a book of poetry over the next year.
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 Centre Director with Sistema Toronto, the Music Director of Music4Life String Orchestra, and the Founder of Mad Endeavour. Kathryn is a strong advocate for the accessibility and appreciation of music and art in today’s society and she values the constant pursuit and celebration of knowledge.
Kathryn Knowles 