2023 Adjudicators
Donna Garner
Musical Theatre / Songs from the Screen & More
Beginner & Primary (Virtual) / Beginner & Primary (Virtual)
Toronto based Canadian Actor-Muso Donna Garner was raised on a dairy farm near Stratford, Ontario in a home filled with music. That set the tone. Her classical voice studies took her to Western University, The University of Toronto and to the AIMS Institute of Musical Studies in Graz, Austria.
Donna works onstage as an actor, singer, pianist and multi-instrumentalist. She recently founded GTP – Garner Theatre Productions – Canada’s first theatre company with a mandate to cast and celebrate Actor-Musicians in thought-provoking works.
Her performing has taken her across Canada, the U.S., Austria and Japan. Select theatre credits include Dr. Silver (World Premiere-Musical Stage Company & Outside The March); The Sound of Music (U.S. First National Tour); Once (U.S. First National Tour, Mirvish, Neptune); Two Pianos, Four Hands (across Canada and the U.S.); four seasons at The Charlottetown festival, and Fiddler On The Roof (Persephone) to name only a few.
Recent TV/Film credits include Dare Me (USA Network); Spinning out (SVOD Series); Private Eyes (Global); Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu); Anne (Netflix/CBC); Designated Surviver (ABC).
When not on stage, Donna works as a voice specialist for masterclasses and lectures, an adjudicator, a private voice teacher, repertoire coach, accompanist, and Music Director. She is on the faculty of the prestigious Sheridan College Music Theatre program, and is a member of the College of Examiners for the Royal Conservatory of Music.
She shares her life with her talented Actor-Muso husband Rick Hughes and their stoic and hilarious mini-schnauzer Gustav Mahler (Gus).