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Karen Donnelly is principal trumpet of the National Arts Centre Orchestra. Since her arrival
at the NAC in 1996 she has developed a reputation for the beauty and virtuosity of her music. She is active throughout the National Capital Region giving  educational concerts and workshops in schools, and has contributed regularly to the Music for a Sunday Afternoon series of the NAC orchestra, and to the
Ottawa Chamber Music Festival.
A native of Regina, Saskatchewan, Karen became hooked on the trumpet in her elementary school band program. While she displayed a natural ability for the instrument, she
started her formal training much later at the University of Regina. After completing her Bachelor of Arts in Music, she received a major bursary from the Saskatchewan Arts
Board to continue studying at McGill University (Montreal) where she completed a Masters of Music degree in 1991.
Karen joined Orchestra London (Canada) as principal
trumpet in 1994, and has performed with many ensembles in southwestern Ontario. Her orchestral career has also included concerts with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra,
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens, and playing principal trumpet with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under musical director Jukka-Pekka Saraste.
For her concert with the Strings of St. John's, Karen has
chosen to play the rarely-performed "Concerto in E-flat" by Johann Baptist Georg Neruda (1710-c.1780), and a tone poem by the contemporary American composer Vincent
Persichetti entitled "The Hollow Men" (inspired by the poem of the same name by T.S. Elliott).
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