Pianist Annabelle Paetsch is an accomplished, creative and versatile musician, teacher, scholar and entertainer who brings a breadth and depth of musical experience to all her work. She has performed numerous solo concerts on both piano and pipe organ in Canada, the U.S., Germany and Austria, as well as collaborating with symphony orchestras (Orchestra London, Vancouver Island Symphony, Pacific Spirit Orchestra), choirs, singers and instrumentalists of all ages. She has adjudicated senior piano classes, recorded two solo CDs (Tribute to Love and Scenes from Canada), worked as a musical extra in the film industry, and taught post-secondary music courses at the University of Western Ontario and Douglas College. Her work has been broadcast on the CBC network as well as in the U.S.

Currently Annabelle is based in West Vancouver BC.  In April 2024, after 20 years as accompanist for Pacific Spirit Choir, she was presented with the Joyce Maguire award for outstanding long-term service by the British Columbia Choral Federation.   A former member of the Saskatchewan, Manitoba and BC Registered Music Teachers Associations, Annabelle continues to teach piano and theory, specializing in advanced levels and in working with adults.

Annabelle has held music director positions in Lutheran, United, Reformed and Anglican churches.  She is highly experienced as a worship music planner and leader in contemporary as well as traditional styles; and is equally comfortable in the roles of organist/pianist, choral conductor, and concert organizer/presenter.

In 2017, Annabelle founded St Stephen’s Community Singers, a non-auditioned community choir, which was restructured in 2024 as North Shore Community Singers.  Since its inception, she has conducted the ensemble, presenting concerts in December and June in West Vancouver (usually to a full house).

Annabelle’s passion is piano. She has performed, both as soloist and collaborative keyboardist, at the Silk Purse Arts Centre in West Vancouver as well as at many other venues.  Locally she has played several recitals at Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver, including one during the 2010 Olympics, and has collaborated with choirs at the Chan Centre.  Equally comfortable with classical and popular musical genres, Annabelle is in demand as a pianist for parties, corporate gatherings, and gala fundraisers:  for example, the Nature Trust of BC fundraiser at the Pacific Ballroom, Hotel Vancouver; West Vancouver Memorial Library Foundation events; and a Lions Gate Hospital fundraiser at Capilano Country Club, West Vancouver. Her elegant and warm musical stylings, technical proficiency, and improvisatory spontaneity create a palette of sound which can support other artists and create an inviting ambience.   Annabelle’s awareness of her environment and intuitive adjustment to the social and musical context, as well as her comfort with speaking to audiences about the music they are hearing, have earned her a reputation of accessible excellence.

A native of Saskatchewan, Annabelle studied piano initially with the legendary Dr. Lyell Gustin in Saskatoon, then with Prof. Robin Harrison at the University of Saskatchewan. Following her Bachelor of Music degree and FTCL (Fellowship, Trinity College of London) diploma, Annabelle was awarded a Saskatchewan Arts Board grant to study piano in Austria. For three years she lived and worked in Vienna, studying piano with Paul Badura-Skoda and Prof. James McChesney at the Haydn Conservatory in Eisenstadt. During this time she also began organ studies and held the position of Organist at the Reformierte Stadtkirche in Vienna, while also playing solo piano recitals at the Skodagasse Library, the Vienna International Centre, and the Esterhazy Palace as well as at the home of the Canadian Ambassador.  After Annabelle was awarded the Konzertfach (Performance) diploma in piano from the Haydn Konservatorium, she returned to Canada to pursue Masters and Ph.D. degrees in music from the University of Western Ontario (now Western University).  Her doctoral dissertation, “Performance Practices in Chopin’s Piano Sonatas, Op. 35 and 58:  A Critical Study of Nineteenth-Century Manuscript and Printed Sources,” was published in 2009 by VDM Verlag Dr Mueller.  Annabelle has lived in Vancouver since 2002.