Biographical Info

Canadian vocalist and composer Karin Plato came to jazz almost by accident. The music she heard in her formative years was the rock and pop music of the day and the classical music she studied from a young age. She didn’t get the “jazz bug” until she was in her early 30’s and that’s when her music career really began when she made the move from central Canada to the West Coast. Karin was born on the prairies, in the province of Saskatchewan. She studied classical piano throughout her childhood and eventually she went on to study voice and piano at the University of Saskatchewan where she received a Bachelor of Music Degree. In 1985 she moved to Vancouver to further her studies at Capilano College in a quest to learn more about composition and arranging. In 1996 and 1998 she studied vocal jazz at The Banff Centre for the Arts with renowned vocalists Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton. Over the years she has also been able to study with Nancy King and Kurt Elling. Karin has performed across Canada and in some areas in the USA and she continues to work in Vancouver as a music educator, pianist, vocalist and arranger and she is the artistic director of the Joy of Jazz Concerts series in Vancouver. She is a Juno nominated artist, West Coast Music Awards nominee and 3 times nominated Canadian Jazz Vocalist of the Year at the National Jazz Awards in Toronto.