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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Assignments from January 15th
Hello Everyone!
I hope you all stayed warm during the snow storm! I was happy to see some of you online via FarPlay this week. If anyone has any questions or needs help navigating the software, please let me know!
Georgia:
I hope you had a great snow day! Please continue to practice “Waltz Time” and we will review this next week.
Noreet:
Great digital lesson today! For this week please review the left hand of the first and third phrases of Moonlight Melody and the right hand of the second phrase. Remember, this song has some accidentals in it including sharp and natural signs. Noreet knows that one she sees an accidental in a bar, the accidental is applied to all notes on the same line or space until either corrected with another symbol, or until the bar line resets the note quality. We will review this concept next week in class. To ensure rhythmic accuracy as Noreet practices, please ask her to count out loud to ensure notes are played for their full value. But remember; this song is in 3/4 time! This means there are only 3 beats in each bar, so she should count like so: “1 and 2 and 3 and”. Resist the urge to add a fourth beat on the end! If there are any tricky rhythms during practice, please ask Noreet to cover the page to reveal one bar at a time to help her zero in on challenging moments in the music. We will review these in class next week.
Eva:
Today we reviewed the first phrase of Young Hunter! Eva learned that the lines underneath the 3 notes at the end of the phrase is called a Tie and is asking her to add the vale of all three notes together. Please encourage her to count out loud when playing this phrase to ensure she plays the Es at the end for their full combined value. For now, Eva is permitted to count this as a 10 beat long note. We will review this in class next week and learn the proper counts as dictated by the bar lines.
Benji:
I hope you had a great snow day! Please continue to practice “Classic Dance”. Remember, the first and third phrases of the song are identical. We will review the specific fingering for the end of both phrases next week in class.
Clara:
Get well soon Clara! If you feel well enough to practice this week, you can continue with Barefoot on the Beach. Remember; this song is in cut time! So each note will feel faster than it looks. We will review this next week. If you need more repertoire this week you can feel free to choose another song to start and we can juggle both Barefoot on the Beach and your other chosen song.
Andrew:
I hope you stayed warm during the snow storm! For this week, continue to practice the lip-roll technique and play around with the various colours and sounds different vowel shapes create in your voice as you practice Empty Chairs at Empty Tables.
Thank you everyone!
I’m looking forward to seeing you back in the studio next week!
Preferred Books for Katie’s Students
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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.
