“The thing about music, there’s this nurturing of our souls.”   

Karen Donnelly, principal trumpet for the National Arts Centre  Orchestra, is our guest on What’s Your Forte this week! She and Kathryn  talk about touring Canada, the moment she realized the depth to which  music could impact you, the best gig she’s ever seen and some key advice  for the next generation of players.

Karen Donnelly was unanimously appointed principal trumpet of the  National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada in October 1999, following  three successful seasons as acting principal trumpet, and continues to  enjoy playing with this wonderful ensemble. A native of Regina,  Saskatchewan, Karen started the trumpet in elementary school, which  propelled her into a Bachelor of Arts in Music at the University of  Regina, followed by a Master of Music degree at McGill University. While  freelancing in Montreal, she quickly became in demand, performing with  many ensembles in the area including the Orchestre Symphonique de  Montréal.

Karen has given master classes and workshops in Europe, China, the  United States, the United Kingdom and coast-to-coast in Canada. She is  part of the coaching team for both the trumpet section and chamber music  for Canada’s National Youth Orchestra. In 2002, she joined the teaching  staff at the University of Ottawa, and has been assisting with their  Orkidstra program, inspired by Sistema, since 2009.

Most recently, Karen spearheaded the Canadian Women’s Brass Collective.  This group of talented musicians presented concerts, master classes and  lectures in Toronto during January 2019 over a five-day conference to  great acclaim. During the pandemic, the collective curated an extensive  series of online sessions to support musicians to create healthy and  effective practice strategies.