Catherine Gardner
Soprano Catherine Gardner, a native of Stratford, Ontario, began her vocal studies at the University of Western Ontario where she completed her Bachelor of Music in Voice Performance. She then studied at the Peabody Conservatory of Johns Hopkins University where she completed her Masters degree, followed by a Graduate Performance Diploma. She has earned several awards and honours including Young artist of the Year (London Arts Plus), the George Castelle Memorial Award (Peabody Conservatory), first place in the Baltimore Music Club's Voice Competition, Professional Division, as well as a Peabody Career Grant. Operatic roles include The Countess (The Marriage of Figaro), Mother (Amahl and the Night Visitors), Teresa (The Reunion), Cercatrice (Suor Angelica) and Ophelia (in the premier of Amy Kirsten's Ophelia Forever). Highlights from her concert repertoire include Handel's Messiah, Faure's Requiem, Rutter's Magnificat and Mozart's Mass in C minor, which she most recently performed as part of the Stratford Summer Music Festival. She is very fond of recital work and has performed numerous concerts with chamber groups, including an all-Grieg program with the Oslo String Quartet. She most recently played the role of Gerturde in Toronto composer Mark Richard's operatic version of Hamlet as part of Stratford Summer Music. She was also featured on composer Michael Purves-Smith's CD, Contrasts in Love, which was released this fall. As well as performing, Catherine is an examiner with Conservatory Canada and maintains a busy studio of voice students. She lives in Stratford with her husband and two cats.
