After a life-transforming youth orchestra experience Tina went on to study flute performance at the world-renowned Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, England, and then played principal flute in the Tenerife Symphony Orchestra for four seasons. After spending a six-month sabbatical on full scholarship at the Banff Centre for the Arts, she moved to Ottawa, where she played with all the established orchestras and festivals in Ottawa, including the National Arts Centre Orchestra and the Ottawa Chamber Music Festival.
In 1999, in partnership with her husband Gary McMillen, she opened The Leading Note. Until its sale in 2020, it was recognized as one of Canada’s leading print music stores – and a hub of the classical music scene in Ottawa.
In 2007, motivated by her passionate belief in the transformative power of youth music, Tina visited Venezuela to research El Sistema. Soon afterward, she and co-founders Gary McMillen and Margaret Maria Tobolowska founded OrKidstra (previously also known as The Leading Note Foundation.)
As the leader of OrKidstra, Tina has proudly accepted many awards including a Peace Award from the Mayor of Ottawa and honoured with a Leadership Award from the Canadian Institute for Child Health. In 2017, she was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal for creating the OrKidstra program from Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, awarded Tina Fedeski.
Tina became a Certified Integral Associate Coach
TM with Integral Coaching Canada in 2021.