Carrie Hryniw

At the tender age of 11, Carrie Hryniw's first composition was performed at her grade 6 school Christmas concert in an arrangement she prepared for piano and percussion. Carrie continued her studies in classical piano and graduated with distinction from the Bachelor of Music Program at the University of Alberta in 2000. Upon graduating, she travelled to India to study Indian Classical music with a tabla drum master, and from there to western Europe, meeting people and hearing their stories ...

At the tender age of 11, Carrie Hryniw's first composition was performed at her grade 6 school Christmas concert in an arrangement she prepared for piano and percussion. Carrie continued her studies in classical piano and graduated with distinction from the Bachelor of Music Program at the University of Alberta in 2000. Upon graduating, she travelled to India to study Indian Classical music with a tabla drum master, and from there to western Europe, meeting people and hearing their stories that later became fuel for her writing. When Carrie returned to Edmonton, she knew that she wanted to continue to grow as a performing musician. She began to teach herself the guitar and delved into songwriting. As a pianist, guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, Carrie has spent a great deal of time perfecting her craft. Attention to dynamics and organic sounds has become her trademark. Carrie applies her knowledge in classical music and her far-reaching voice to achieve both raw emotion and technical clarity in her performances and recordings. With a style of her own, Carrie's sound may be described as a cross between Joni Mitchell and Cat Power, or Sarah Harmer and Feist. Not only does she have a keen sense of melody, Carrie's well-crafted lyrics enable her to draw the listener into the snapshot images she creates with them. The combination of melody and lyric make for a powerful and profound listening experience. In September 2005, Carrie released her debut CD Pieces of Me, which opened many doors for Carrie as performer. Carrie has gained recognition and support via radio play and live performances throughout Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary. In 2006 Carrie toured extensively throughout Alberta and into the Kootenays in support of her debut release, and was invited to perform at the South Country Fair in 2006 and the North Country Fair in 2007. She has been a regular performer in the Edmonton Night of Artists events and was also a performer at the "8" events in promotion of world peace. Carrie has performed noon hour concerts on campus stages at the University of Alberta and Grant MacEwan Southside Campus, and at former Edmonton venues such as The Sidetrack and The Powerplant, opening for headliners such as Dave McCann and Craig Cardiff. Her recent NextFest performance has been featured on CBC's Canada Live. In April 2008, Carrie released her second full length album Finding Grace; a collection brilliantly crafted songs reflecting real life inspirations. The minimal arrangements are the backbone for her soaring voice, so emotional that the listener can't help but be drawn in. Finding Grace has been receiving world-wide attention from major music reviewers and radio stations across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and has reached several top 30 charts in radio stations across Canada. In June and July 2008, Carrie Hryniw completed a successful tour throughout the prairies in support of her new release; performing at house concerts, live music venues and cafes at all major cities and several small towns in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Currently Carrie is working on her third full length recording.