Connor O'Kane

Recognized as one of Ontario’s most versatile emerging artists, Connor O’Kane is a highly sought-after pianist, chamber musician, vocal coach, and conductor.

Since his concerto debut with the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in 2014 under the baton of Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, he has appeared as a recitalist in the United States, France, and across Canada. A laureate of major competitions and festivals, he was awarded the Canimex Second Prize and top award for piano at the 2022 CMC Stepping Stone. He has performed in Ottawa’s Chamberfest, Lyon’s Festival Tempo Vivace, Western University’s Faculty Concert Series, the Kitchener-Waterloo Chamber Music Society, the Belfountain Music Festival, and Drayton Entertainment.

A passionate collaborative musician with an affinity for opera, Connor has been a répétiteur on productions at the National Arts Centre, the Banff Centre, the University of Ottawa, Wilfrid Laurier University, and at Western University, where he has served as assistant conductor on over ten operas since 2019. His most recent engagements include conducting the closing performance of Western University’s production of Britten’s Albert Herring (March 2024) and the opening night performance of Toronto City Opera’s Carmen (June 2024). In Fall 2024 he joins the Glenn Gould School of The Royal Conservatory of Music as Music Director and Conductor of Ravel’s L’Enfant et les sortilèges and Debussy’s L’Enfant prodigue. He has enjoyed the privilege of working with some of the leading opera directors in Canada, including Joel Ivany, Anna Theodosakis, Theodore Baerg, Stephen Carr, Allison Grant, and the late Michael Cavanagh, as well as conductors Jennifer Tung, Simone Luti, Alexander Shelley, Tyrone Paterson, and Alain Trudel.

As a chamber musician, Connor regularly collaborates with musicians from across the globe. Notably, he is part of an art-song duo with acclaimed Canadian mezzo-soprano Hillary Tufford. Further collaborations include a four-hands piano duo with pianist Ryan Baxter, with whom he will present recitals in Toronto, Waterloo, and St. Catherines in 2024, including the Canadian premiere of works by Australian composers Carl Vine and Stuart Greenbaum. A champion of contemporary music, Connor is currently pursuing a comprehensive Canadian art-song project with renowned soprano Natalie Image, which includes a residency at the Canadian Music Centre in Vancouver.

Connor holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from Western University. For his research on the piano transcriptions of Sergei Prokofiev, he was awarded the SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship (2019-2023), having previously held a Canada Graduate Scholarship for his research on Ferruccio Busoni. Connor studied piano with Stéphan Sylvestre, David Jalbert, Heather Taves, and Joan Walker, with additional training at the Conservatoire de Lyon in the studio of Manuel Schweizer. A passionate educator, Connor has presented pedagogical lectures across Southern Ontario and is a frequent adjudicator at regional music festivals.