Katie Rife, a young percussionist from British Columbia, attended the Long Term Career residency in Music & Sound in the spring of 2006. Ms. Rife had exclusive access to a rosewood marimba in her studio. Thanks to the heavy emphasis on performance at The Banff Centre, she was able to perform in 13 public concerts, as compared to the typical 2-3 public performance opportunities in an academic setting. Each of these concerts was recorded by professional audio engineers and was available to Katie for her review and development. As the second youngest musician in residency, Katie also benefited from the advice, support, and encouragement of a professional peer group.

"The majority of my residency was spent preparing for auditions for graduate studies. My timeline for this was quite short: I had only a month from my arrival at the Centre until my first audition. The unique nature of the residency program made it possible for me to successfully prepare for these auditions in this limited amount of time. Having the ability to access my studio whenever I wanted, and to work with outstanding visiting artists on a weekly basis, was invaluable to me. In addition, the highly creative environment of the Centre and the support of my peers in the Music & Sound Program gave me the inspiration I needed to remain focused and dedicated to my work. On the final day of the long-term residency program I received the good news that I had been granted admission to the Masters program at my top choice school, the San Francisco Conservatory of Music."

Ms. Rife’s residency was made possible with scholarship support provided by the Canadian Federation of University Women.

She returned to Banff in the summer of 2006 to perform as part of our prestigious Festival Orchestra.