Katie Barrett

Katie Barrett is an award-winning music educator and conductor based in Corner Brook, Newfoundland and Labrador and the 2024 recipient of the Canadian Music Educators Association (CMEA) Builders Award, recognizing her outstanding contributions to music education in Canada. She holds a Master’s in Literacy Education from Mount Saint Vincent University, along with Bachelor of Music Education and Performance degrees from Memorial University of Newfoundland. 

Katie is the music teacher at Corner Brook Regional High, where she directs the concert band, jazz band, house band, choir, and musical theatre program. Under her leadership, these ensembles regularly participate in local and provincial festivals. Most recently, her Concert Band earned a gold standard at the Atlantic Festivals of Music in Halifax and was invited to perform at MusicFest Nationals 2026 in Niagara Falls.

In addition to her work in public education, Katie serves as Choral Director of the Silvern Voices Youth Choir and maintains a thriving private music studio. In 2024, Silvern Voices was invited as a guest choir to HarbourVOICES, where they performed alongside 50 choirs from around the world and shared the stage with Jacob Collier.

She has previously worked as a choral scholar with Shallaway (2014-2016) and was the choral scholar with Shallaway when they earned the title “Choir of the World” at the 2015 Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod in Wales. She was a member of Lady Cove Women’s Choir for several years and attended the World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia (2014) as a chorister and didgeridoo accompanist, as well as Podium (2016) Choral Festival in Edmonton.

As an accomplished trumpet player, she performs with many ensembles in Corner Brook including Jazz West, Dance Party, Shallow Dive, she regularly plays in the musicals held in Corner Brook as a pit musician and has previously played with many groups across Newfoundland and Labrador, including the Newfoundland & Labrador Symphony Orchestra Jazz East, TaDa productions and The Halliday Band. She also earned first chair trumpet with the Long Island Youth Orchestra on a 2013 European tour. 

Katie's career reflects a deep commitment to music education, student success, and the importance of music education in her province.