Karin Carlson’s Bio
In The Northstar Duo, the very entertaining Karin Carlson showcases her versatility as a vocalist, keyboardist and trombonist.
Performing professionally since 1990 in a tremendous variety of musical ensembles has given Karin Carlson an uncommon comprehension of many musical styles and traditions. Among her many hats she has worn in her career, she has been a featured artist, bandleader, composer, arranger, choir director, music director, classroom/private music instructor, has written arrangements for cruise ship headline entertainers, and has performed in and toured internationally with rock, jazz, country, classical and Latin bands.
Education
Her education began at the University of Northern Colorado, where she took “...just about every music class offered...” during her two years of classes. She studied trombone performance with Buddy Baker, composition with Richard Bourassa and Dr. Laura Rush, jazz ensembles (trombone) and vocal jazz studies with Gene Aitkin, electronic music with Dr. Richard Ehle. The faculty was so impressed with her performance as a student that they awarded her “Departmental Scholar--Most Valuable Freshman Music Student.” In 1988 she left UNC to pursue a more contemporary musical education in Los Angeles, studying trombone with the notable trombonists Stuart Dempster and Jeff Hay in Seattle, WA along the way.
Karin holds two degrees with honors from the world-renowned Grove School of Music in Los Angeles: Songwriting/Composition Program and the Contemporary Keyboard Performance Program. She studied piano/keyboards and composition/arranging with Dick Grove, songwriting with Jack Smalley, Robin Randall and John Braheny, electronic music with Lorenz Rhychner, vocal performance with Sue Raney and Mike Campbell, as well as playing trombone in Juno- and Grammy-award winning composer Rob McConnell’s Big Band, Joel DiBartolo’s (of Tonight Show Band fame) Jazz Ensemble, and the Grove Studio Orchestra recording sessions.
Gigging in Los Angeles
While in LA studying at Grove, Karin had a variety of musical jobs, including arranger/transcriber/copyist for Rainbow Productions; piano and trombone teacher; trombonist in the Sunshine Orchestra Old Time Dance Band, John MacGruder’s Big Band and Luis Antonio’s Latin Power salsa band; and assistant editor at Home and Studio Recordingmusic magazine, which afforded her the opportunity of writing a demo tape review column.
Gigging in Canada
After meeting the love of her life Andy Carlson in Rob McConnell’s Grove big band, she moved with him to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1991. As a freelance musician in Winnipeg, she has been a sought-after trombonist and vocalist with a wide variety of musical groups, such as: Winnipeg’s premiere big band "Ron Paley’s Big Band, the Memory Lane Dance Band, Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra, several rock/dance bands including Chain Gang (rock), Let’s Be Frank (rock/dance), Million Civilians (world beat); casual/society bands including Clark Productions, Eli Herscovitch Orchestra; classical ensembles from orchestras to brass choirs such as the Mennonite Community Orchestra, the Providence College Orchestra and Brass Quintet, the Winnipeg Winds Concert Band, and several Latin bands, including a performance at the internationally-broadcast closing ceremonies of the Pan Am Games with the salsa band Combo Latino.
She taught songwriting and other classes at the Professional Musicians College, founded and directed the Unitarian-Universalist Church Choir (later becoming Musical Coordinator for the church), taught voice, piano, eartraining and trombone in the community and as a clinician for local schools, taught computer applications at The Academy of Technical Training and Polar Bear Corporate Education.
Gigs of Note and International Gigs
Karin has been the bandleader, arranger and fronted several of her own jazz trios/quartets, the rhythm and blues/dance band The R & B Express, and her own single lounge piano/vocal act. She performed as a vocalist and trombonist, as well as writing arrangements for the dance bands and the headline acts (Justin Banks, David MacLain, others) on three cruise ships: Celebrity’s SS Meridian, Norwegian Cruiseline’s MS Dynasty and SS Norway. She fronted the variety/jazz duo Karin and Andy on the Cruiseship Seabourne Goddess II. She also toured the U.S. between 2003 and 2005 as the lead singer and keyboardist in the rock/country/variety band Joyride.
Currently she is the pianist and singer (and occassionally trombone, when they hire a guitar player) in The Northstar Duo, performing at casinos, parties, weddings and corporate events in Winnipeg, Canada, and Internationally.