Thursday, June 12th

Dr. Connor O'Kane is a highly sought-after pianist, teacher, chamber musician, and conductor. Since his concerto debut with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in 2014, he has appeared as a recitalist in the United States, France, and across Canada. A laureate of major competitions, he was awarded the Canimex Second Prize and top award for piano at the Canadian Music Competition's prestigious Stepping Stone. He has performed in a variety of concert series including Ottawa's Chamberfest, Chateau Windrush, and the KW Chamber Music Society, and has appeared as a guest artist in faculty concerts at Western University, Brock University, and The University of Waterloo.

A passionate collaborative musician with an affinity for opera, Connor has worked on over 20 opera productions in a variety of roles. In 2024 he conducted opera performances at Western University (Britten's Albert Herring), Toronto City Opera (Bizet's Carmen), and at the Glenn Gould School of the Royal Conservatory of Music, where he served as music director and conductor of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges and Debussy's Prodigal Son. In 2025 he has further opera-related engagements with the Glenn Gould School and the Banff Centre.

Connor holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in piano performance from Western University, where he studied with Stéphan Sylvestre. His doctoral research focused on the piano transcriptions of Sergei Prokofiev, particularly with relation to the ballets Romeo and Juliet and Cinderella. He has been awarded the SSHRC doctoral fellowship, the Canada Graduate Scholarship (CGS-M), and the Canada Council Explore and Create grant. Connor also studied with David Jalbert, Heather Taves, and Joan Walker, with additional training at the Conservatoire de Lyon in the studio of Manuel Schweizer. He is a passionate and dedicated piano teacher, and an enthusiastic adjudicator at music festivals.