2022 MUSICIANS

Katrina Johnson recently completed the Advanced Certificate in Performance at the University of Toronto, where she studied with Mark Fewer. She graduated from McGill University in 2021 with a Bachelor of Music – Orchestral Performance degree with Honours, studying with Marcelle Mallette, and a minor in Musical Applications of Science & Technology. Her summer studies have included participation in the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra Institute and Domaine Forget. Orchestral experience includes performing and touring with the Calgary Youth Orchestra and National Youth Orchestra of Canada, as well as performances with the National Orchestral Institute and Festival, McGill Symphony Orchestra, University of Toronto Contemporary Music Ensemble, and the Calgary Philharmonic. Katrina is an aspiring professional orchestral musician and is continuing her studies in the fall for a Master of Music in Performance at Eastman School of Music, in the studio of Juliana Athayde.

Kimberly Durflinger was born and raised in sunny San Diego, California, and joined the Thunder Bay Symphony  violin section in 2021. Kimberly has substituted with major North American orchestras like the San Diego Symphony, the Canadian Opera Company Orchestra, I Musici Orchestre de Chambre de Montréal and the Kitchener Waterloo Symphony. Additionally, in Summer 2022 she will be performing with the National Arts Center Orchestra in Ottawa as part of their orchestra mentorship program. She received her Master’s Degree from the Schulich School of Music at McGill University and her Bachelor’s Degree from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York. Her major teachers include Andrew Wan, Alexander Read, Jing Yan Bowcott, and Alexandra Keegan. Furthermore, Kimberly loves dancing Argentine tango and playing with her Toronto-based rock band Vaerisa. She currently lives in Thunder Bay, ON with her fiancé Christopher Stork and their four chunky guinea pigs.

Kris Leslie began playing trombone in grade four when his band director offered a donut to anyone that would learn the instrument. Originally from Maine, he earned his B.M. at the Boston Conservatory and is now in the Artist Diploma Program at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory in Toronto. Kris has recently performed with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra. He is very passionate about making music with his trombone quartet, Sauce Rocket and the Splatter Tones, who are finalists in the International Trombone Festival Quartet Competition this summer. When avoiding the trombone, Kris can be found in nature playing the alphorn. He is extremely grateful for the mentorship of his teachers: Gordon Wolfe, Norman Bolter, and Larry Isaacson.