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.
Conrad Grebel University College - Great Hall
140 Westmount Rd. N.
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G6
Time | Name | Titles | Home Festival |
---|---|---|---|
Time:9:00 AM | Name:Samuel Han | Titles: Arabesque No. 1 by Claude Debussy Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 850 by Johann Sebastian Bach | Home Festival:Guelph |
Time:9:15 AM | Name:Daniel Thiessen | Titles: Sonata in B flat Major, op. 47, no. 2, 1st and 2nd mvt.. by Muzio Clementi Scherzo-Valse (no. 10) by Emmanuel Chabrier | Home Festival:London |
Time:9:35 AM | Name:Naomi Williams | Titles: Nocturne in E Minor, op. posth. 72, no. 1 by Frédéric Chopin Danza de la moza donosa, op. 2, no. 2 by Alberto Ginastera | Home Festival:South Simcoe |
Time:9:50 AM | Name:Liam Best | Titles: Arabesque No. 1 by Claude Debussy Solace by Scott Joplin | Home Festival:Lambton County |
Time:10:05 AM | Name:Julia Zhu | Titles: Wedding Day At Troldhaugen, op. 65, no. 6 by Edvard Grieg Sonata in F Major, K 332, 2nd and 3rd mvts. by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Home Festival:Peel |
Time:10:25 AM | Name:Raymond Liu | Titles: Sonata in F Major, K 280 (189e), 2nd and 3rd mvts. by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Arabesque No. 2 by Claude Debussy | Home Festival:Unionville |
Time:10:45 AM | Name:Cheryl Gao | Titles: Prelude and Fugue in G Minor, BWV 861 by Johann Sebastian Bach Sonata in B flat Major, K 281, 1st and 2nd mvts. by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Home Festival:Hamilton |
Time:11:00 AM | Name:Fiona Irgengioro-Wu | Titles: In Summer by Christine Donkin Doctor Gradus ad Parnassum (no. 1) by Claude Debussy | Home Festival:Take the Stage |
Time:11:10 AM | Name:Cecilia Wang | Titles: Bridal Procession, op. 19, no. 2, Scenes of Country Life by Edvard Grieg Prélude, op. 3, no. 2, Morceaux de fantaisie by Sergei Rachmaninoff | Home Festival:Star-MVP |
Time:11:25 AM | Name:Ella Qi | Titles: Sonata in E Major, Hob. XVI:31, complete by Franz Joseph Haydn La plus que lente by Claude Debussy | Home Festival:Ottawa Piano |
Time | Name | Titles | Home Festival |
---|---|---|---|
Time:1:00 PM | Name:Alexandria Xu | Titles: Sonata in E Major, Hob. XVI:31, complete by Franz Joseph Haydn November (In the Troika), The Seasons, op. 37b, no. 11 by Pyotr Il’yich Tchaikovsky | Home Festival:Kingston |
Time:1:15 PM | Name:Hongan Lei | Titles: Sonata in F Minor, op. 2, no. 1, 1st and 2nd movements by Ludwig van Beethoven Nocturne in B flat Minor, op. 9, no. 1 by Frédéric Chopin | Home Festival:Pickering GTA |
Time:1:35 PM | Name:Morgan Chui | Titles: Aufschwung, Fantasiestucke, op. 12, no. 2 by Robert Schumann Mist by Court Stone | Home Festival:Yip's |
Time:1:50 PM | Name:Yisong Wan | Titles: Sonata in E flat Major, K 282, Complete by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Nocturne in A flat Major, op. 32, no.2 by Frédéric Chopin | Home Festival:Kitchener-Waterloo |
Time:2:10 PM | Name:Jason Lu | Titles: Consolation No. 3 by Franz Liszt Rondo No. 1, Three Rondos on Slovak Folk Tunes, op. 84 by Béla Bartók | Home Festival:Niagara |
Time:2:25 PM | Name:Justin Koski | Titles: Overture in the French Style, BWV 831, Sarabande and Echo by Johann Sebastian Bach Nocturne in B flat Minor, op. 9, no. 1 by Frédéric Chopin | Home Festival:Barrie |
Time:2:40 PM | Name:Jolene Zhao | Titles: Sonata in G Major, op. 14, no. 2, 1st and 2nd mvts. by Ludwig Van Beethoven Shimmer by Heather Schmidt | Home Festival:North York Live |
Workshop will be held from approximately 3:00 pm to 4:15 pm.
Announcement of winners will happen at the end of the workshop.
The top competitor from this class will proceed to the playoffs.
The playoffs will be held at Conrad Grebel University College - Chapel
140 Westmount Rd. N., Waterloo, ON N2L 3G6