Though born in Nova Scotia, Marie was raised and educated in Saskatchewan from the age of five.

Marie began music lessons at age eleven as a flute player. It wasn’t until her band teacher asked her to substitute for the absentee flute player in his woodwind quintet and she watched him walk in carrying a bassoon that she realized she’d made a terrible mistake! She began bassoon lessons shortly after and has never looked back.

Marie is an alumnus of the National Youth Orchestra of Canada and has performed professionally with the Regina and Winnipeg Symphonies as well as the Royal Winnipeg Ballet Orchestra. She first performed with the Saskatoon Symphony in 1991 (as part of a featured Bassoon Quartet – Michel Corrette’s ‘Le Phénix’) and has held the Second Bassoon chair since 1995.

From 2003-2020 Marie taught Applied Bassoon and Bassoon Techniques as a Sessional Lecturer in the Department of Music, University of Saskatchewan. She also co-ordinated the Saskatoon Youth Wind Orchestra for five years, as well as the Saskatchewan Band Association’s Saskatoon Summer Band Camps for 19 years.

When not behind a bassoon or a contrabassoon, Marie can often be found behind a sewing machine, as she is, admittedly, quilt-mad. She lives in Saskatoon with her husband, two grown sons, and one anxious little pup.