Copyright 2010 Kathryn Turyna

Kathryn Turyna

Composer, Vocalist, Guitarist

A native of Ellicott City, Maryland, Kathryn has been involved with all things musical since a very young age.  Her first main instrument was guitar, and her studies lasted for nearly ten years.  During that time she also formally studied voice and piano.  Kathryn continued with voice lessons even after no longer formally studying the guitar or the piano, and currently her voice is her primary instrument. She has had the opportunity not only to sing in choirs, but also to perform in recordings for local songwriters and at special events (birthdays, holiday parties, etc.)

Vocal Style
While Kathryn enjoys listening to many different styles of music, her favorite styles to sing are folk, religious, and country.  Just for fun, she enjoys singing the jazz and Broadway show tunes which could always be heard playing in her house growing up.  Some of the singers whom she admires the most are:  Diana Krall, Ella Fitzgerald, Cassandra Wilson, Jane Monheit, Tony Bennett, Michael Bublé, Michael Feinstein, Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.

Guitar Style
After years of not playing due to an injury sustained from overuse (playing even through pain when it hurt to continue), Kathryn is once again practicing.  Her repertoire includes works from the Baroque and Renaissance period, as well as folk songs from Europe and America. “An article in the magazine ‘Neurology Now’ about guitarist Billy McLaughlin’s struggle with focal dystonia inspired me to start playing again.  If he could re-learn to play at a very high professional level using his left hand, I could start slowly but surely coming back to playing, even if it means I have to take it easy and can’t play for as long as I’d like.  As I tell anyone interested in the guitar, ‘Never play through muscle pain.  Stop and take a break if you need to.  It’s not worth sacrificing your career because of an injury which could have been prevented.”   

Formal Composition Studies
While attending Towson University, Kathryn switched her major interest from playing guitar to musical composition. Having found her niche, she changed her major from education to music theory and composition. The rest, as they say, is history.
Her Love Affair With Sound Synthesis
Early on, she became entranced with synthesizers and sound synthesis.  That love of all things electronic has continued even to this day.  Depeche Mode, Kraftwerk, Karlheinz Stockhausen, and Trevor Wishart are some of the most important musical influences for her as a composer when it comes to the style of electronic/computer music. Studying at the University of York under the guidance of Dr. Tony Meyers opened many doors for her from a compositional standpoint. For the first time, she was able to create sounds she had only dreamed about.  The technology had finally caught up with what was in her head. 

Into The Mystery
When she came back from York, she decided to pursue her interest in audio engineering by obtaining a certification from Sheffield Institute for the Recording Arts located in Phoenix, Maryland. Without access to the high grade programs and equipment she had available to her during her studies in England, she began to think about writing for traditional instruments again, in particular the voice.  The seeds of thought had been planted and the project 'Into The Mystery' began to take shape.  One of her greatest inspirations for this work came from attending the Universal Dances of Peace meetings at Bon Secours Spiritual Center in Marriottsville, Maryland.  The melodies that we sung were very simple and the words were in many different languages.  Kathryn, however, kept hearing harmonies - other vocal parts - as we were singing. Unable to get this music out of her head, she began to write it down. She prayed about the project and felt lead by the Holy Spirit to create an entire collection of works dedicated to God. Two years later, with a lot of encouragement and hard work from a wonderful group of singers, 'Into The Mystery' was finally recorded and completed. 

Current Work
After taking a few years away from music to teach self defense as well as explore her lifelong passion for working with horses and helping people (therapeutic horseback riding), she is once again composing music.  “I guess the saying ‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder’ is true.” With a renewed energy for writing, she is working on a free-form percussion work as well as a series of pieces for classical guitar.  There is also an unfinished acoustic project waiting in the wings as well as some country songs in the mix.

Biography