Christine Tuturea (née Funnell) was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta.  She began singing at a young age and spent nearly 10 years singing with the Mount Royal Choral Program.  In her youth and teen years Christine competed regularly in the Kiwanis Festival and N.A.T.S.  (National Association of Teacher’s of Singing).  She was awarded many first place honors, including First Place Vocal Performance in 2000 at the Kiwanis Provincial Music Festival.  In 2001 Christine was awarded a full tuition scholarship for 4 years to attend the University of Colorado at Boulder and graduated in 2005 with a Bachelor of Music (Vocal Performance).  While there, Christine performed as the Dragon and Teacup in Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortileges and as Sister Mathilde in Poulenc’s Dialogues des Carmélites. As well, Christine was cast as a chorus member in Mozart’s Magic Flute and in the premier of Randall Shin’s Sara McKinnon.  While attending the University of Colorado, Christine also had the honor of being awarded the Joan Conlin Chorale Scholarship two years in a row.  Since moving back to Calgary, Christine has had the opportunity to perform as a repeat soloist with the Calgary Bach Festival Society, the Calgary ProArts Society and the chamber group “Graceful Company”. Last year Christine competed in the Calgary Kiwanis Festival and received first place honors in Opera Solo, Schumann Class, and Provincial National Class and was awarded the Eileen Higgins Memorial Scholarship. Christine then participated in the Kiwanis Provincial Music Festival in Edmonton and was awarded first place. In August 2011, Christine represented Alberta in the National Music Festival in Antigonish, Nova Scotia where she was awarded third place.