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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When iCloud Failed: A Decades-Long Apple User’s Race Against Time
On November 7th, 2025, I lost a decade of my work and personal history in what should have been a routine restart.
I’ve been an Apple user since I was 12 years old. I’ve owned and operated my music school, ABC Academy of Music (music-lessons.ca), for 22 years. I’ve built my entire business and personal computing life on Apple’s ecosystem—Macs, iPhones, iPads, iCloud, the full productivity suite. I’ve had enough faith in Apple to be a shareholder.
In all those years, Apple has never let me down the way it has now.
What Happened
My Mac maxed out its RAM. The system generated low memory alerts. I did what anyone would do: I force quit applications, emptied the Trash, and restarted.
When the machine came back up, it appeared to be reinstalling macOS. When the process completed and I reached my desktop, everything was gone. Not just the files on my desktop. Everything in iCloud too.
At first I assumed the files simply hadn’t synced yet—that the machine needed to reconnect to iCloud. This was exactly why I used iCloud in the first place: not just as a backup, but so I could access my files anywhere, on any machine. That’s what Apple promises. That’s what I paid for.
But the files never came back. Whatever happened during that crash didn’t just affect my local machine. It wiped my iCloud storage too.
What I Lost
Custom CRMs I built over more than a decade to run my multi-location music school. Paid client lists and active student records. Student reporting systems and databases. Financial records spanning years of business operations. Our certificate of incorporation. Tax filings. Marketing materials, custom designs, logos, templates, and tools developed over 10+ years.
Personal files too. My taxes. My CV. University transcripts. Recipes that are deeply important to me as an amateur chef—some handed down, some developed through years of trial and error.
Strangely, some aspects of iCloud appear completely untouched. My Photos are fine. But Keynote, Pages, and Numbers have only limited files restored. The inconsistency is baffling, and no one has been able to explain it.
Three Weeks of Trying
It’s now been three weeks since the incident. I’ve spent countless hours on calls with Senior iCloud technicians. They’ve been professional. They’ve escalated my case. They’ve told me they’re doing everything they can.
But what they’ve restored amounts to a fraction of my actual data and files—and none of it is what I need to run my business or access my personal history.
Here’s what Apple support has refused to do:
- Connect me with the iCloud engineers who actually understand the system architecture
- Provide me with a disk image of my iCloud drive so I can work with independent specialists
- Explain how a local system crash could propagate to cloud storage
Even the Experts Are Stumped
I’ve taken my computer to forensic data recovery specialists. Even they were unable to make sense of why this happened or offer a solution. The data was supposed to be living in Apple’s cloud—not dependent on my local machine. The experts I consulted could not explain how a local crash could wipe cloud storage, and they had no path forward for recovery.
This leaves Apple as the only entity that can investigate what happened and potentially recover my data. And Apple won’t connect me to anyone who can.
The Deadline
November 7th was the incident date. Cloud storage systems typically have a 30-day window before deleted data is permanently purged. That deadline is approximately December 7th—days away.
If Apple doesn’t act before that window closes, everything could be gone forever.
Why I’m Sharing This
I’ve reached out directly to Tim Cook, Eddy Cue (the SVP who oversees iCloud), and Apple’s PR team. I’ve outlined the situation and explained the steps I’m taking.
I don’t want to make noise about this. It’s time I don’t have, and it’s not in anyone’s interest. I just want my data back—what I paid for, what I spent years creating.
But three weeks of working through normal channels hasn’t connected me to anyone who can actually help. Time is running out. Regretfully, I feel I must escalate this publicly because I have no other options.
The Question
How does a local system crash wipe cloud storage? Isn’t the entire point of the cloud that it’s separate from your local machine? Isn’t that what we’re paying for?
Even forensic data experts couldn’t answer these questions. Only Apple can.
I’m sharing this because other people deserve to know: iCloud may not work the way you think it does. And if it fails, getting help may be harder than you expect—even if you’ve been a loyal customer for decades.
What I Want
I want engineering resources assigned to investigate this and attempt deep recovery. I want the disk image so independent specialists can work in parallel. I want to understand what happened.
Most of all, I just want what’s mine.
If you’ve experienced something similar, or if you have advice for getting engineering-level help at Apple, I’d appreciate hearing from you. And if you think this story is important, please share it.
Time is running out.
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.
