Ms. Kate Bevan-Baker, PhD (humanities), Grad Cert (university teaching), MMus (violin performance), BMus (violin perf.)

Biography

Newfoundland-born Kate Bevan-Baker is a recognized fiddler, classical violinist and singer. She has been playing violin since the age of four and thrives on a variety of musical styles from Celtic to jazz and classical. She holds violin performance degrees from Memorial and McGill Universities, a Graduate Certificate in University Teaching, and a PhD specializing in Irish Music on PEI from Concordia University where she was a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Scholar. Kate was the winner of Concordia University's Doctoral Thesis Defense Award in 2018, as well as the recipient of the inaugural Rhona Richman Kenneally Award for the top PhD paper at the Canadian Association for Irish Studies conference in 2018.

Her music performance career has taken her to Russia, across Canada twice with the National Youth Orchestra of Canada, to China for the 2010 World Expo representing Canada, the 2010 JUNO Awards performing with Michael Bublé, as well as playing with symphony orchestras and chamber groups across Canada. Kate was the winner of Memorial University’s Concerto Competition in 2009, and represented Newfoundland and Labrador at the National Music Festival that same year. She was the violin mentor at the Canada Games National Artist Program in 2009, where she gave workshops and masterclasses to young musicians from across the country. Kate was a founding member of the Newfoundland-based ECMA-nominated traditional band, The Dardanelles, and is also a founding member of the all-female quartet, Birds on a Wire, made up of classically trained players sharing an interest in other musical styles such as Celtic, bluegrass, rock and jazz, and dedicated to stretching the boundaries of typical string quartet playing. She has performed with prominent classical musicians across Canada at Festival of the Sound and Sound Symposium, and with ensembles such as La Nef and Ensemble Telemann.

Since moving to Montreal in 2010 to pursue graduate studies, Kate has been a member of Concerto Della Donna, a women’s choir under the direction of Iwan Edwards, and currently sings with Adleisia, the choir that emerged from Concerto Della Donna following Edwards’ retirement. She has been featured on many nation-wide radio and television broadcasts, and can be heard on over thirty CDs, videogame, and movie soundtracks.

With an educational background in fiddling as well as classical violin, Kate spent numerous summers attending fiddle programs in Cape Breton (Gaelic College), Scotland (private study), and Boston (Mark O’Connor/Berklee String Program). Kate has taught fiddle and ensemble classes at the Siamsa School of Irish Music in Montreal and is a member of several Celtic musical ensembles in Montreal: Solstice, Bùmarang, and Archetype Trad. Kate currently lives in Montreal where she teaches at Concordia University and balances an active performance and teaching schedule.