A trailblazer in Ottawa’s music scene is hosting a workshop in collaboration with the Ottawa Public Library (OPL) in celebration of Black History Month.

On Wednesday, “Sound in Living Colour”, an event combining music and painting, will be hosted virtually by OPL and Ottawa’s own Kathryn Patricia Cobbler. The workshop is intended to help older adults “reflect on people, places and images that inspire them to tell their life stories.”

Cobbler, a classically trained loop pedal violist, composer, and music teacher, has been featured at CBC Listen and in Ottawa Life Magazine. She is the recipient of several awards, including the 2021 Arts Award, granted by the Ottawa Arts Council.

Cobbler comes from a musical family, and one of the “rules” growing up was that each child in her household had to learn an instrument. Cobbler began playing piano when she was five years old, but says she "didn’t take to it.”

“I threw a bit of a hissy fit,” says Cobbler. “And then my dad asked me if I wanted to play the violin. I had said 'yes' without even knowing what the instrument was, and then I played the violin for a very long time.”

Growing up in Windsor, Ontario, Cobbler was raised in what she calls a “wonderful, supportive music community.”

“I studied with players from the Windsor Symphony Orchestra,” says Cobbler. “It was just the most amazing experience. And throughout my education, I was lucky enough to have just amazing supportive professors and community.”

However, as a Black artist studying a traditionally Eurocentric genre of music, Cobbler says her race sometimes made her experience as a musician more alienating.

“There is something about when you don't see people that look like you, I think that…you don't always see the way paved forward for you,” says Cobbler.

As a music educator and a recognizable face in Ottawa’s Black music scene, Cobbler is now paving the way for aspiring Black musicians.

She works with MASC Ottawa, an organization which brings music and the arts into schools, where she teaches kids from kindergarten to Grade 12 about classical music.

“Something that I noticed is that…when there are kids who look like me in the audience, oftentimes they haven't seen someone playing a classical instrument, and a solo classical instrument at that,” says Cobbler. “Something that I'm realizing, and really excited about, is that they can have that moment to be able to see someone doing that and to open possibilities.”

Cobbler, who studied for her undergraduate degree at Western University in London, Ontario, before pursuing a Master’s degree at the University of Ottawa, is also an instructor at Carleton University and a teacher at the National Arts Centre (NAC).

She wants her accolades and professional achievements to encourage aspiring Black musicians to “follow their curiosity and to not feel limited.”

“My hope is that as young Black artists continue to learn and discover their artistic voices,” says Cobbler. “Because it helps to normalize it.”

Cobbler’s latest album, Wander, was released in December and is available for purchase here.

Sound in Living Colour will take place virtually beginning at 3 p.m. EST. Tickets are free and available here. To learn more about OPL’s other Black History Month events, visit the Ottawa Public Library website.

Listen to the CHUO story below: