KATHARINE PETKOVSKI
KATHARINE PETKOVSKI (b. 1997) is a composer and pianist based in Toronto, Canada. Featured on CBC’s list of “30 hot Canadian classical musicians under 30”, her music has been performed and premiered by celebrated ensembles such as the Bedford Trio, Odin Quartet, and the Exultate Chamber Singers. Awarded the NDSU Edwin Fissinger Choral Composition Prize, and selected as the winner of the Bedford Trio Composition Competition, Katharine’s music spans multiple disciplines, and is especially passionate about creating music for visual media, scoring films that have shown at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Atlantic International Film Festival, San Francisco Indie Short Festival, TIFF Next Wave Film Festival, and Inside Out Film Festival.
Katharine holds a BMus in Composition from the University of Toronto (’19), and a MMus in Composition from the University of Toronto (’21), where she received the prestigious Tecumseh Sherman Rogers Graduating Award of $25,000 upon completion. She has been mentored by esteemed composers like James Rolfe, Norbert Palej, and Derek Bermel, and has had the opportunity to work with artists such as JACK Quartet and musica intima. She is an active member of the Screen Composer’s Guild of Canada, the Association of Canadian Women Composers, the Alliance for Women Film Composers, and the Canadian League of Composers.
Bawaajigan
by Katharine Petkovski
SSATBB a cappella – CP 2561 – duration 5:55
Bawaajigan is a choral setting of a poem by Canadian poet and artist Colleen Coco Collins. Named after the Anishinaabe word for “dreams”, the text explores themes of transformation, awakening, and the cyclical nature of growth. Drawing on imagery of earth, water, and ancestral presence, it emphasizes interconnectedness and the quiet power of change. The music mirrors this through fluid harmonies, subtle shifts in texture, and interwoven vocal lines that reflect the natural world’s rhythm and flow. With simplicity and grace, Bawaajigan offers a meditative reflection on personal and collective transformation, evoking a sense of stillness, movement, and renewal.
When Music Sounds
by Katharine Petkovski
SATB a cappella – CP 2336 – duration 2:45
SSAA a cappella – CP 2351
This is the first place winner of the Choral Canada Composition Competition, 2024 – the Diane Loomer Award.
When Music Sounds is a setting of the poem “Music” by Walter de la Mare (1873-1956). With hints of nostalgia injected in its folk-like tune, the piece is an appreciation and celebration of the beauty and wonder of music. Inspired by great works like The Road Home by Stephen Paulus and Requiem: In Remembrance by Eleanor Daley, this piece serves as a reminder of the connection that music brings, spanning generations and travelling across space and time.
