About Katie:
Katie grew up on a remote farm in north-central Texas with her parents. She is an only child, and enjoyed being outside and taking care of their animals and 13 acres of land. She currently resides in Fort Worth with her husband, their son (11) & daughter (4), and their new puppy, Bazzle. She has a bachelors degree in Music Education from Hardin Simmons University and is certified by the State Board of Educators and Texas Education Agency to teach music to students from early childhood (EC) through 12th grade.
Vocal Experience:
Katie has been singing since she was a child. She joined her middle school choir in 1998 and immediately began competing in UIL contests including All-Region where she was ranked as the first chair Soprano II. Her love of the UIL competition process was instantaneous, and she continued to audition for the Texas All-State Choirs and perform at Solo & Ensemble contests throughout her middle and high school years, consistently earning superior (I) ratings and advancing to the Area level of the all state process during which she ranked among the first and second alternate chairs for the Texas All-State choirs in 2002 and 2003. (Fun Fact: Among her competitors were the up-and-coming celebrities Kelly Clarkson (1999-2001) and Brina Palencia (1999-2002)) The Acapella Choir (top choir) for her high school was a sweepstakes choir for 9 consecutive years, of which Katie was a member and alto section leader between 2000 and 2003. Her voice teacher coached Katie through her performances in Jesus Christ, Superstar (2002) and Godspell (2003) at a local Methodist Church.
After her vocal audition for Hardin Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, Katie was invited to tour with the Texas Baptist All-State Choir-West Division (directed by Dr.Loyd Hawthorne), which was a wonderful experience to initiate her into the choral program at HSU where she would soon perform with the University Concert Choir (top choir) under the direction of Dr.Loyd Hawthorne and Opera Scenes under the direction of Dr. Jaynne Middleton and Dr.William Mouat from 2003 to 2007. While earning her degree from Hardin Simmons, she was a member of the voice studio of Dr. Lynnette Chambers and frequently performed in university recitals, was a NATS semi-finalist for the Texoma region (2004), and earned various auditioned vocal scholarships. In 2005, Katie was employed by the Abilene Opera Association as the assistant stage manager for their production of La Fanciulla Del West , and in 2007 she performed her senior recital fulfilling the performance requirements of her degree plan.
After completing the student teaching portion of her coursework in Birdville ISD, she graduated from Hardin Simmons in 2008, earning her bachelor degree in Music Education with vocal/choral emphasis. Since then, she has performed with several church choirs in the area and was a cast member/understudy in the 2009 season of "The Promise in Glen Rose." Katie has volunteered and performed at Theatre Off The Square as the music director in productions of Big Fish (2017) and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2018). She was the founder and director of her campus honor choir which consistently received superior ratings at the NRH2O Choir Festival (2009-2013). She assisted with the EMSISD Youth Honor Chorale from it's inception in 2010 until 2013 and has taught voice lessons from her home since 2012. She was the assistant choir director at Hurst Junior High in HEBISD from 2015-2017, and served as a long-term substitute for the Boswell High School Choirs in April and May of 2022.
She currently serves as a voice teacher and masterclass clinician at various campuses in Eagle Mountain-Saginaw ISD, Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, Northwest ISD, and Weatherford ISD during the school day to allow for more convenient scheduling with her students.
She is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), the Texas Choral Directors Association (TCDA), and holds an affiliate membership for the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS). She is a former member of the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME), Texas Music Teachers Association (TMTA), the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
Flute Experience:
Katie has been playing the flute (1997-present) and piccolo (2000-present) for 24 years and has found much success in her playing. She began taking private lessons in 1998 and with her teacher's expert guidance and instruction, she maintained the position of section leader (or first chair) in her campus band programs and consistently received superior (I) ratings at the regional and state solo and ensemble competitions as well as qualified for regional and area band through middle and high school. At state solo and ensemble contest her junior year, Dr. Mary Karen Clardy (University of North Texas) judged her performance and was so impressed that she personally invited Katie to be a guest performer for a series of flute masterclasses the following week. Between practice sessions, competitions, and homework, Katie also taught beginning flute lessons to several younger band members from 2001 to 2003.
Katie received a flute scholarship upon admittance to Hardin Simmons and was involved in the University Concert Band and the World Famous Cowboy Band (the "show" band) under the direction of Dr. Wayne Dorothy, and studied flute performance from Marcia Straughn (2003-2006). She was the recipient of the Kelli Nicole Marshall Freshman Scholarship (Sigma Alpha Iota) in 2003 and after a brief break due to course conflicts, she returned to the Concert and Cowboy Band programs for her final semester at Hardin Simmons in 2007.
After graduating from HSU, she returned to the metroplex to begin teaching and connected with a local flute choir, Flutasia. Katie performed in venues ranging from local churches and libraries to the Meyerson Symphony Center (Dallas, TX) with Flutasia from 2008 until August of 2011 when she delivered her son.
Since 2008, Katie has performed as a guest soloist for various choirs in the area, including her performances at the Bass Performance Hall in downtown Fort Worth (2010, 2012, 2017), a live performance with the EMSISD Youth Honor Chorale on Good Morning Texas in December of 2012, and accompanying the TMEA Region 30 Middle School Region Choir in 2016. She has accompanied the choirs of Boswell High School, Wayside Middle School, Hurst Junior High School, and Timber Creek Middle School.
She is an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA), and a former member of the Texas Flute Society (TFS), the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA), and the National Association for Music Educators (NAfME).
Other Music Experience:
Among flute and voice, Katie is proficient in piano, percussion, and recorder. She has training in the Orff, Kodaly, and Feierabend's "Conversational Solfege" methodologies for teaching music. She is knowledgeable in music theory, audiation, dictation, IPA (the international phonetic alphabet), and can read texts in English, French, German, Italian, Latin, Spanish, and Russian.