Acclaimed for her “poise and great musical aplomb” (Opera Canada), Canadian soprano McKenzie Warriner has made her mark on repertoire spanning centuries. As a Rebanks Family Fellow at The Glenn Gould School for the 2024/2025 season, McKenzie is excited to perform her first Queen of the Night in Die Zauberflöte with GGS Opera. She will also debut with the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra in Messiah, and will sing Luca Francesconi’s virtuosic Etymo with the GGS New Music Ensemble during the Royal Conservatory of Music’s 21C Festival.
An alumna of Vancouver Opera’s Yulanda M. Faris Young Artist Program, McKenzie has performed roles across Canada, including Papagena in Die Zauberflöte (Vancouver Opera), Moira in The Handmaid’s Tale (Banff Centre), Aurore in Le Portrait de Manon (Vancouver Opera), and Madame Herz in Der Schauspieldirektor (Eastman Opera Theatre). McKenzie has also recently made concert debuts with Edmonton Opera, Regina Symphony Orchestra, Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra, and the Banff Centre in works ranging from the High Baroque to the cutting-edge.
Winner of the 2023 Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition, McKenzie is one of Canada's rising stars in the field of contemporary music. She has premiered over a dozen works by composers from across North America and the United Kingdom, with performances at the Aldeburgh Festival as a Britten Pears Young Artist, on tour across Canada with pianist Danielle Guina, and in concert with Slow Rise Music, the series McKenzie co-founded with her frequent collaborator Tristan Zaba (her husband). Through Slow Rise Music, McKenzie and Tristan strive to push boundaries within traditional vocal genres while fostering collaboration across musical communities, placing a special emphasis on commissioning/performing music by emerging Canadian artists.
McKenzie completed her Master of Music degree in Vocal Performance and Literature at the Eastman School of Music studying with mezzo-soprano Kathryn Cowdrick, and her Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Manitoba under the tutelage of baritone Mel Braun. When she isn’t singing, McKenzie loves running, knitting, and playing Dungeons & Dragons, and she is a proud pet mother to Marcie the dog and Blake the snake.