Katie Ditschun

Singer-songwriter and jazz singer Katie Ditschun balances whimsy and substance, showcasing her talent for combining diverse styles. She received a FACTOR grant for her debut jazz-pop album, Spare Skirt, and her last two singles “In Your Arms” (from pop/folk EP There Will Be Flowers, 2025) and “One Voice” (from jazz EP One Voice, 2022) have both received recognition in international songwriting competitions. Katie recently opened for Juno-nominated artist Ndidi O at the St. Lawrence Acoustic Stage.

Born and raised in Brantford, Ontario, singer-songwriter and jazz singer Katie Ditschun now calls Alexandria, Ontario home. Katie could read music before she could read books. Because of a diagnosis of juvenile arthritis, she began piano lessons before she started school.

Young Katie thought she would one day be an Opera singer, but then she discovered jazz vocalists like Ella Fitzgerald, Blossom Dearie, and Sarah Vaughan and became enthralled. Initially pursuing vocal studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, she completed her Bachelor of Music at Berklee College of Music. Her musical influences are broad: from blues and jazz to classical, from folk and pop to Broadway.

As an adult, it was Katie’s experience with secondary infertility and the onset of her mother's terminal illness that pushed her to compose her original music. Both experiences continue to provide inspiration in her songwriting.

In 2018 Katie received a FACTOR Artist Development grant and completed the recording of her debut album, Spare Skirt (2019). The songs on Spare Skirt vary in stylistic inspiration and the album offers contrast, depth, and sincerity. “Her music is full of lyrical substance and warmth,” say Raina Hersh at JazzFM91. Two singles from that album, both were finalists in Dropout Entertainment’s Canadian Independent Music Video Awards — “That is that.” (folk category, 2020) and “The Moon” (pop category, 2022).

CBC added Katie’s holiday single “Be Still” (2020) to their Holiday Playlist and it continues, year after year, to receive airplay on various radio and commercial playlists across Canada.

Katie was wildly excited by her first attempts at writing and releasing her own jazz compositions. The four track jazz EP One Voice (2022) explores themes of longing, loneliness, and self-love. In 2022 and 2025, “One Voice” was a jazz semi-finalist in the International Songwriting Competition.

Most recently, Katie has been inspired by funk and disco sounds. In 2025 she released her 1970s-influenced folk/pop EP There Will Be Flowers. The lead single “In Your Arms” was a pop category finalist in the InterContinental Music Awards (2025).

Katie’s songs explore fears and fantasies, disappointments and comforts, self-awareness and secrets. She writes of relationships—of love, and of those confused for love. Her goals as a songwriter and performer are to make her listeners, in this disconnected world, feel connected and comforted.