BIOGRAPHY

​​Jillian Bonner is an artist and teacher whose love of music was developed and nurtured in her hometown of Saint John, New Brunswick. She is a graduate of the University of Manitoba (Master of Music), Dalhousie University (Bachelor of Music) and the Calgary Opera Emerging Young Artist Program. Jillian was a Rebanks Family Fellowship and International Performance Residence Recipient at the Glenn Gould School in Toronto, as well as part of soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan's Equilibrium Young Artist Initiative (EQ). Through EQ, Jillian made her debut with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra in January 2020, performing Mozart's Requiem under the baton of Sir Andrew Davis at Roy Thomson Hall.

Jillian enjoyed competing for many years, most notably becoming a finalist at the Opera de Montreal’s Atelier Lyrique competition, a Regional finalist for the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, a semi-finalist for the WMC Doris McLellan Competition in Winnipeg, and a finalist in the Eckhardt-Gramatté National Music Competition.

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Jillian's operatic roles include Concepcion in Ravel's L'Heure Espagnole (Glenn Gould School Opera and the RCM Orchestra),  Arsace in Semiramide (Rossini Academy at the Lunenburg Academy of Music Performance), Charlotte in Werther (LAMP's Richard Margison Opera Studio); Dorabella in Cosi fan Tutte (Calgary Opera); The Fox in The Cunning Little Vixen by Janáček (Opera NUOVA). 

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Returning to live and work in her hometown, Jillian runs a voice studio in uptown Saint John, and is passionate about creating a nurturing environment for singers to experience artistic and personal growth.

She has most recently performed Handel’s Messiah with Symphony New Brunswick, and the Symphony Chorus at Trinity church. This past summer, she performed Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Cathedral Choral society and will perform Michna’s Missa pro Defunctis in January 2026.