Biography
Education
Bachelor of Music in Jazz Composition and Arranging-Berklee College of Music (cum laude)
Recipient of Berklee Faculty Association Award and Hank Jones Jazz Masters Award.
Additional studies at Julliard School of Music in Contemporary Music. Piano studies with Ann Karnofsky, Krystof Brzuza, Harold Danko and Florence Stephenson. Vocal studies with Jim Carson.
Educational background also includes numerous workshops/seminars in early childhood music education.
Teaching
Kathy has taught private piano lessons at her home studio in Santee since 1994. She is a member of Music Teacher Association California (MTAC)., Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) and National Guild of Piano Teachers. Her students participate every year in several festivals and adjudicated events as well as in her own studio recitals. In addition her students participate in the MTAC Certificate of Merit and have been chosen to participate in Branch Honors Recitals, received their Senior Medallion as well as qualified to play in the MTAC Convention. She also prepares students for performance classes/recitals at Grossmont College and auditions for the Young Lions Jazz Conservatory.
Her students have gone on to share and enjoy music as a lifelong study, some have majored in music in college and gone on to become teachers themselves. Kathy attends meetings, conventions, and seminars in order to be up to date with teaching techniques. She served on the MTAC San Diego Branch as chairperson of the Composers Today program, and was also a coordinator at the State level. Her composition students have received high honors as part of the MTAC Composers Today State Contest.
Professional Experience
Currently Kathy is the pianist/vocalist for Stone Soup Jazz and assistant musical director/accompanist at San Carlos United Methodist Church. As a professional pianist and vocalist Kathy has performed all over the US and in Europe, from solo piano work to jazz clubs to pit orchestras, recording for radio and TV in Boston and LA. She has toured South America and was the keyboardist on 3 albums with Venezuelan artist Frank Quintero and Pablo Manevello.
In 2014 she received a 1st place award in the MTAC State Composition Contest for her piece "Little Oscar Prelude" (dedicated to Oscar Peterson) and 2nd place for a solo piano piece, "Paint the Stars", an advanced work. She also served as pianist in a steller trio with Jeff Blanco and Richard Sellers backing up vocalist Stacey Roberts on his January 2015 CD release of "When Sunny Gets Blue" (available on CDbaby and iTunes). She has had the honor of accompanying San Diego jazz legend Charles McPherson, and other local notable musicians such as Leonard Patton, Gary Rich and David Borgo. She has served as pianist for the Legacy Big Band, Downbeat, and Marty Conley Big Band, accompanist for Off Broadway Live and loves being a part of the numerous jazz jam sessions/events and clubs in the thriving San Diego jazz scene.