Artist Biography
In her adopted hometown of Calgary (Moh’kinsstis, Treaty 7), Kenna Burima has earned a reputation as someone who can turn ideas into big projects, teach the unteachable and inspire people to come together.
Since doing her time in the institutional hallowed halls of classical music education, Kenna’s love for all musical forms has driven her involvement in a diversity of projects. From the multiple European tours in the early aughts with indie-folk band Woodpigeon to the lengthy devotion to the sweaty garage rock of Grey Deceiver; grandiose projects still abound. Her cherished collaborations with Calgary theatre companies, One Yellow Rabbit and Ghost River Theatre have offered unique opportunities to compose for the largest and loudest of instruments, the Calgary Tower’s carillon with the Calgary Song Project and partake in collaborative creative reconciliation with theatrical Indigenous-led sound bath creation Echoes of the Land.
These collaboratory and theatrical works dovetail into her daily concerns of dive bar gigs, soft seater performances, educational workshops, offering instruction in creativity and songwriting, free public singalongs and studio work. Kenna’s current passions include hosting the second season of ArtistSpeak*, a talk show-craft gathering-performance series in collaboration with MRU’s Institute of Community Prosperity which celebrates onstage artist-led conversations on the intersections of creativity and activism. Kenna is also co-founder with Drag artist Mx. Jendr of the Calgary-based drag and cabaret phenomenon Drag Sings Live! where drag artists share a single performance two ways, nurturing joy and deep connections in Calgary’s Queer community.
Kenna’s solo albums span classical-cabaret-pop-rock and jazz; musical affairs that draw on her vast technical and artistic know-how. The complexities of her songwriting reflect the heart of an artist who is never content to restrict herself to one genre, one project, or one ideal. With her third solo album While She Sleeps, the angry intensity of her sophomore release Hymn (2016) turned inward to unravel the quiet mysteries of creation. Her latest album While She Sleeps is available now on Bandcamp only and in Illuminated Songbook form on her website. She is currently working on her fourth solo album Spirit Wrestler, utilizing archival material of the Doukhobors to create massive vocal soundscapes that reconnect her to hundreds of years of musical ancestry.
When not immersed in creative endeavours, Kenna focuses her energy on her most precious of creations, her 8-year-old human tornado, whilst trying to make ends meet and researching and writing a book on creativity called How We Create. You can read her monthly features in The Scene online and in print and in Werklund Centre’s monthly newsletter and blog.