We’re proud to welcome Katie Hatanaka and Emily Steers as our emerging artists for the 2022/23 Season!
Both women are extremely accomplished musicians and we look forward to working with them over the next few months.
Katie Hatanaka
Katie Hatanaka is a soprano, conductor and teacher from Markham, Ontario. She recently graduated from Western University with a Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance studying under the guidance of Bethany Horst and choral conducting with Kathleen Allan and Dr. Mark Ramsay.
Katie ignited her passion for vocal music at the age of 6 through joining the Toronto Children’s Chorus and has continued to sing in various choral and solo settings since. Through an opportunity in her final year at Western to participate as one of six student conductors at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s inaugural symposium, “Lift Every Voice” (2022), Katie cultivated a love for choral conducting and has since been pursuing opportunities to further her skills as a choral conductor.
She is excited to have the opportunity as an emerging artist to grow as a conductor, leader and musician through the program as well as enter a new choral community in Guelph.
Emily Steers
Emily Steers (she/her) is a soprano from Guelph, Ontario. She recently completed her MA in Community Music at Wilfrid Laurier University, studying community and identity formation in LGBTQ choirs.
She is an ardent fan and performer of new music, having recently premiered a solo chamber opera by Alexander Wright and participated in the Musique 3 Femmes new opera workshop. She is equally passionate about early music, co-founding the Rubrum Aurum early music trio in 2018 and touring the Maritime provinces in the spring of 2019. She has a diverse set of operatic performances under her belt, ranging from Mozart to Monteverdi to Janáček.
Recently, Emily has been honing her skills as a conductor, working with the Mount Allison Elliott Chorale, the Laurier Singers, and the chorus of Vera Causa Opera. She runs a thriving teaching studio, working in a diversity of styles from musical theatre to folk to classical. Emily is committed to making her work accessible and meaningful to anyone who wishes to make music!
