Kathryn Knowles is a Toronto-based composer, cellist, and writer specializing in creative entrepreneurship and building vibrant musical communities. She holds a Master of Music Composition and a Master of International Business, combining these skills to cultivate sustainability and accessibility through joyful and impassioned artistic expression.
As a composer, she was selected by the League of American Orchestras for the 2025 Earshot Readings with the National Arts Centre Orchestra and was the 2023–24 Composer Fellow with the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2019, she participated in the Toronto Symphony Orchestra Explore the Score program. Her music has been performed by numerous artists and ensembles, including Jialiang Zhu, Slowrise Music, Vc2 Cello Duo, Joseph Petric, and Martin Carpentier. She is currently collaborating with pianist, composer, and singer, Morgan-Paige Melbourne, to write a musical titled Between Fires, funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.
Kathryn regularly performs as a cellist in chamber ensembles and orchestras around Toronto. An active session musician, she recorded tracks for Juno-nominee Lindsay Schoolcraft’s album, Lovelorn and Hopesick, and OKAN’s 2024 Juno-winning album, Okantomi.
An accomplished writer, Kathryn received honourable mention in the Writer’s Digest 89th Annual Writing Competition for her poem, Beyond the Black Horizon’s Crease, and her short story, Lester’s Bird Feeder. Her debut fantasy trilogy,The Quiescence Trilogy, and her first poetry book, These Gossamer Recollections, are available for purchase.
In addition to her work as a composer and writer, Kathryn is a passionate music educator and community-builder. She served as Music Director of the Music4life String Orchestra from 2019 to 2025 and worked for ten years with El Sistema-inspired organizations in Canada. Believing deeply in the transformative power of music, Kathryn cultivates welcoming spaces where people of all ages and backgrounds can connect, learn, and create together. An expert in financial management for musicians, Kathryn teaches The Fundamentals of Music Finance at the University of Toronto and serves as Development Manager at the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. She also owns and operates her own independent publishing company, Mad Endeavour.
Kathryn Knowles 