Catherine Robbin joined the Board of the Canadian Aldeburgh Foundation in 1993 and has served as President since 1998. She continues in that capacity with the Art Song Foundation of Canada.
One of Canada’s best known mezzo-sopranos, Catherine Robbin established an international reputation as a renowned mezzo-soprano following her debut in 1972. Her illustrious thirty-year performing career included performances and recordings with leading conductors around the world: John Eliot Gardiner, Trevor Pinnock, Christopher Hogwood, Bernard Labadie, John Nelson, Andrew Davis, and many others in concert halls from Rome to Tokyo. She is at ease in a wide range of vocal music, but is particularly noted for her interpretations of Baroque and Romantic repertoire in oratorio, opera, and recital.
In 2003, Catherine retired from a performing career, giving her farewell concert at the Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto with Tafelmusik. Since then, she has been the director of classical vocal studies in the School of Arts, Media, Performance, and Design at York University in Toronto. Her students have won numerous awards and have gone on to graduate studies at many Canadian, American, and European universities. She is often called upon to adjudicate and give masterclasses for universities across Canada.
Catherine was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2011. She is an honorary patron of The Toronto Children’s Chorus, Pax Christi Chorale, and The Women’s Musical Club of Toronto. Throughout her career, she was the recipient of numerous awards and honours, including a Juno Award, a Grand Prix du Disque, and a Grammy nomination.