Samantha Whelan Kotkas

Born in Canada, raised in Africa, and educated in Calgary and Houston, Samantha Whelan Kotkas has been praised for creating truly unique and engaging experiences for young audiences. She is an award-winning producer, storyteller, trumpet player, and teaching artist who has traveled internationally as a creative consultant and performer. Her work combines a love of music and the outdoors with a deep commitment to the arts and arts education in Canada.

As part of this mission, she has commissioned and showcased the work of Canadian composers Keon Birney, Tyler Hornby, Chris Andrew, Sherryl Sewepagaham, Matt Epp, Jordan Andrew, and Walter White Bear—amplifying voices that reflect the rich diversity and creativity of Canada’s musical landscape. In June 2018, she was honoured to be named “Distinguished Graduate” at the University of Calgary’s convocation ceremony.

Alongside her performing career, Samantha serves as Education Advisor for Calgary Pro Musica and is a teaching artist for the National Arts Centre (NAC). She finds deep meaning in her cross-cultural work with Walter MacDonald White Bear through the NAC’s Arts Alive program. She has created programs for young audiences and educational resources for organizations including Honens, Festival of the Sound, Banff Centre, Bach Tots, the Calgary Board of Education, the National Arts Centre, the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra.

Samantha recently completed writing and producing Wandering with Wonder, an immersive outdoor musical storytelling experience blending live and recorded music, puppetry, dance, and original narrative. The production premiered to a sold-out audience at the Leighton Art Centre in September 2021. In collaboration with Samantha and her team, the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra transformed the work into a fully orchestrated film, produced by Roadwest Pictures and directed by Dean Bareham, with orchestration by Claude Lapalme, Music Director of the Red Deer Symphony. The live orchestral film had its world premiere in May 2023, with the original creative team performing on stage alongside the orchestra.

The film was awarded Best Musical Film in 2023 by the Alberta Media Production Industries Association and will be featured—with the original cast—in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra’s 2025–26 season.