Bachelor of Fine Arts (York University)
Katie Thurman is a singer, pianist, accompanist, and teacher based in Toronto. Her passion for music has been with her since childhood, and she is excited to have recently completed her undergraduate degree in music at York University.
Trained classically in piano, she continues to explore other styles including pop and jazz, as well as write her own compositions. Her vocal training is in both classical and musical theatre styles, as well as lengthy choral experience both in and out of school.
Katie spent 6 years singing with WIBI A Cappella, a collegiate-based group, during her time at York, and is proud to have competed with them twice in the ICCA (the very competition the Pitch Perfect films were based on!). Currently, she sings with the Toronto-based That Choir.
Katie loves all types of music, but spends most of her time listening to pop, indie, and alt-pop records.
Katie also writes her own songs and is working towards putting together an EP. Aside from music, Katie’s other passions include baking, film, and psychology. She loves teaching and is always pushing herself to grow pedagogically and musically!
Get to know Katie…Beyond the Bio!
Hobbies: baking, watching movies/TV, writing, yoga, hiking
Musical influences: Classical: Natalie Dessay, Maria Callas/Pop: Arcade Fire, Lana Del Rey, BANKS, Florence & the Machine, Rhye
Favourite food: Pasta
Least favourite food: Seafood
Favourite music: pop & alt-pop, indie/folk, dance, and all things Celtic
Favourite song: currently “Favourite Boy” by Half Moon Run
Favourite movie: Eighth Grade
Favourite movie music: A Single Man, music composed by Abel Korzeniowski?
Favourite musical theatre/opera: Les Misérables
Best quote from your teacher: Vocal teacher: “Just go for it! We want to hear ‘Katie-and-a-half'”.
Favourite quote: Motivation comes from work
Favourite book: The Handmaid’s Tale
Best thing about teaching at ABC: I like sharing my knowledge with students, and I learn from them too!
Latest Homework from Katie
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Thursday April 18 Lessons – Erin P
Sounds like you all had a great, productive time with Emmett! Here are *his* notes for the week:
Liam
technical requirements are slowing down! Talked about relative minor, C major, Am hands together 2 octaves, G maj 2 octaves. Started to slow down for the end of scales, keeping consistent and EVEN on the way down. Focus on evenness. Dmin natural Mel and harm. Hands separate and then together. Working in visualizing scales before we play them to avoid playing wrong notes the first time.
Witches and wizards – memorized, take it slow, emphasis on control! Talked about pedal control and when to pedal! Slow practise emphizes the mistakes and you can highlight them. Work on time slowly. Memorize dynamics and keep the Piece interesting, lightweight dynamic more!
Walk the talk, good sense of time! Trying not to slow!
Marita
C. Major both hands, 2 octaves! Key signature? G major, breaking hands apart and then putting back together for fingering! Remembering left hand fingering coming down.
Learned the chords and melody with rhythm to Havana (Camila Cabelo)
Katarina
Learned chord terminology!! Went over chord pattern of C-Am-F-G. Did Perpetual motioning C and G! Watching left hand fingering! Focusing on fingering!
Learned the chords for Over the Rainbow.
Sara
G major, hands together, evenness and tempo! E min, harm, B maj, G min, nat, mel, harm,
Arp, C major, Eb major, right hand,
Chromatic scale!
Ballade – Good dynamics! Take fermatas longer, transitions smoother! Overall lovely phrasing and dynamics! Metronome,
Cloud dance – pedalling! Note pedal. Swells and slurs not want to hear the pedal.
Air in B flat – Nice tempo, a little ghost notes at times. Soaring through notes! No speeding up.
Sonatina in C major – bring out the melody, no speeding up, slow practise on hard sections!
Nightime in the city – Nice swing feel, slow it down for accuracy.
Take the A train – Had a lovely chat about jazz
Marco
Morning fanfare – good use of dynamics! Staccatos and slurs! Focus on accuracy and slowing don to catch all the articulations. Fermata, practised motion for left hand staccatos while the right is not! Don’t rush the 16th notes.
Minuet in C – 3/4 waltz feel, work on your tempo while playing slowly to not speed up. Watch your ties! Dont play the note twice! Keep your eyes up to not lose your place!
Song of the dark woods – dynamics, slower to remain in control! Watch you ties again, don’t just trust your ear. Look up at the music as you go. Dont try and muscle through at a fast tempo.
Daniel
Formula patterns, C major, left hand fingering. G major, A minor, slow because its new, same pattern as C.
The wind – Pedalling, watch the time switches, take it at a reasonable tempo. Good sense of pianissimo. Working on pedalling. Practise good fingering for parts that need to have a smooth connected feeling.
Entree in A minor – take it slow and connected to understand it fully, watch the octave you play the right hand in, dynamics. Wrist position higher to let the fingers move less, it’s less punchy by a long shot.
Periwinkle twinkle – Watch for rests in the right hand, slow down and get accurate. Staccato last note! Dynamics!
Breezy – watch the eighth note lines. Find the hard parts and then play the whole thing that tempo! Consistency!
Preferred Books for Katie’s Students
Click to buy them here, and they’ll come right to your house! What could be easier?
Faber & Faber Piano Adventures
The 2nd Edition Primer Lesson Book introduces the keyboard, note values, and the grand staff. Students play in C 5-finger scale patterns, develop recognition of steps and skips, and learn letter names independent of finger number. Musicianship is built through the use of dynamics and coloristic experimentation with the pedal. The book is organized into units which represent the major concepts and skills. As new units are introduced, earlier concepts and skills are constantly reviewed.
Alfred's Adult Basic All-In-One
Alfred’s Basic Adult All-in-One Course is designed for use with a piano instructor for the beginning student looking for a truly complete piano course. It is a greatly expanded version of Alfred’s Basic Adult Piano Course that will include lesson, theory, and technique in a convenient, “all-in-one” format. This comprehensive course adds such features as isometric hand exercises, finger strengthening drills, and written assignments that reinforce each lesson’s concepts. There is a smooth, logical progression between each lesson, a thorough explanation of chord theory and playing styles, and outstanding extra songs, including folk, classical, and contemporary selections.
RCM Voice Repertoire
A Comprehensive Voice Series serves as the official resource for voice assessments of the Royal Conservatory Music Development Program. Featuring an outstanding selection of voice literature and supporting materials, this series offers a truly enriched learning experience to help ensure student success. As in previous editions, Resonance encompasses a rich and varied selection of Repertoire, Vocalises and Recitatives that students of all ages and voice types will find appropriate to their musical interests and level of technical ability.
Vocal Workouts for the Contemporary Singer
The vocal workouts in this much-anticipated follow-up to Peckham’s The Contemporary Singer are based on Berklee College of Music’s highly effective vocal method. This volume will help vocalists develop the voice through good vocal health, warm-up exercises, advanced techniques, stage performance advice and more. Includes companion online audio for ultimate interactive education!
Alfred's Teach Yourself to Sing
Learn to sing and open up a brand new world of musical knowledge with this exciting method from Alfred Music. Beginning with the fundamentals, you will learn about equipment used by singers, vocal health, and getting acquainted with reading music. You will then move right along to breathing, vocalizing, proper warm-ups, and singing songs, lesson by lesson, all while continuing to increase your knowledge of reading and understanding music. You will learn to sing an array of musical styles including pop, jazz, classical, and musical theater. Near the end of the book, you will be introduced to the idea of individual interpretation, which will help you color your songs with your own unique style. The book features a chord and scale chart for reference during and after your lessons.