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 April 17th
Hello Everybody! Happy Easter!
I have a few updates and reminders for this week. First, progress reports have gone out this week! Please review these with your child at home and let me know if you have any questions next week. Also, please see the note on the bottom of the reverse side of the report for information about summer lessons and fall registration.
Second, our student recital is in two weeks! It will be at 1:30pm on May 4th! While not everyone will be performing, we do consider attendance mandatory as we find this is an important opportunity for students to meet their peers, and for students and families to experience and hear live music together. If we have talked about possibly participating in the recital, feel free to continue this discussion with your child at home. Have them choose one of the songs we have learned and encourage them to perform it for you for practice.
Noreet:
Today we reviewed our time signatures and where the big beat lines up in 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 time. When practicing Mr. Haydn’s theme, use the metronome to ensure all quarter notes are played for their full value; specifically the 3 D’s in the 3rd bar of the song! This week, start trying to play Daydream hands together! Start by practicing the right and left hands separately at least, play both the right and left hand lines at least once before going back and trying to play them together slowly. Practice as much as you can from now until you leave for Europe. Have a great trip! I hope you and your family have lots of fun!
Vida:
Today we reviewed Mr. McGill’s Boop Sha Bop and Under the Sea. Please continue to work through Under the Sea slowly. Ask Vida to sight-read a phrase, then go back and review any challenging parts. Break down these challenging points into smaller chunks – even if that means practicing only 2 or 3 notes at a time – then go back and play the whole phrase again. Take breaks when necessary. When practicing Mr. McGill’s Boop Sha Bop try to connect the phrases. Pin point Vida’s “natural stopping points” and practice these bars specifically. Ask her to “bridge” the gap between these bars, play the bar before and the bar after to encourage a constant flow of sound before going back and playing the whole phrase start to finish. Finally, ask Vida to practice Green Frog Hop. I think this would be a great song to share for the recital! Use the music when necessary, but take it away when possible and challenge Vida to play from memory to help encourage her confidence in the song.
Eva:
Today we reviewed Sailing in the Sun. Please help Eva to practice this at home. Ask her to name the notes as you play them for her. When doing this please pretend you don’t know how to read the line and tell Eva you need her help to play. She can confidently identify middle C and is capable of finding the other notes by counting the lines and spaces up or down from C. You can then switch roles and ask Eva to play the notes as you name them. When doing this, please make sure to point to each note you name so that Eva can follow along, this will help reaffirm the name of the note to its position on the staff. Finally, challenge Eva to read and play the notes at the same time. Support her in this by reminding her its okay if she can’t play it super fast, encourage her to take her time and help to correct any mistakes or miss-steps should they occur. As a reward for her hard work on this song you can use the note value cards, the notes on the staff cards, and rhythm cards to help Eva write her own song. You can find those cards here.
Christian
This week, use the triads and inversions sheet I gave you as a warm up for both your right and left hands. After that you can practice the chord progression in “How Long Will I Love You”. Continue to review and practice the first 8 bars of the melody in the right hand of “How Long Will I Love You” and push yourself to sight-read beyond that. Read as much as you can. I’ve also uploaded “Morning” to the google drive for you to practice at home. Review this hands separate until you feel confident enough to try playing it hands together. You can find the two pages of “Morning” here.
Great lessons this week everyone! I look forward to more music making next week!
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.
