Portfolio

Over 30 Years of Experience Teaching

Kathy has taught hundreds of students, some of whom have become professional musicians and teachers. Many students, years after graduating from high school, contact her to express their deep appreciation for her contribution to their lives, not only as musicians, but as successful contributors to society.She loves each of her students and cares for their personal development. Her recitals are markers of musical progress and milestones in their lives.

Creativity for Student Groups

In my compositional creativity, I have always endeavored to include elements that stretch the capabilities of the players, educationally posing new ways of seeing things.  I recently did a deep dive into electronic music, expanding the concepts of frequency in a series of experiments that bridged the two subjects of pitch and rhythm, showing that they are really not two subjects, but different zones of the same subject.  

I first began writing string quartet arrangements based on hymns for a student group at church.  We would routinely perform at nursing homes and needed material that matched the group’s skill level.  One of the first composition/arrangements I made for the ensemble was Amazing Grace.

From there, as our string ensemble grew in capability, I began expanding the players’ skill levels in works like How Great Thou Art.

Finally, at a high skill level, I wrote What Child Is This (for String Quartet), performed by my wife and I, along with two exceptional musicians who had been trained by our family (one being our daughter), both of whom pursued higher musical education degrees and successful careers. 

I continued to write these hymn essays for string quartet, which required a high skillfulness to perform.  Great Is Thy Faithfulness (for String Quartet).

I was surprised to find that a student string quartet in South Korea performed and posted the piece on YouTube.  Loben String Quartet, South Korea

Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to write for university settings, exploring unique uses of string orchestra and full symphonic orchestra.  Working with the students was both fun and exciting, challenging them to understand music in ways with which they were not yet familiar.  

One class we teach at our school is electronic composition.  I experimented with taking a familiar Christmas hymn, What Child (Electronica), and produced a dance-mix style with it.

I then turned the Electronica version into a piece for Full Orchestra, performed by the University of Texas at the Permian Basin Symphony Orchestra.  What Child

This same university orchestra performed a Mariachi version of another Christmas carol.  Angels We Have Heard On High

Having written a number of orchestral works for them gave me confidence to write my first Symphony, which was first produced with a sound-library, and it’s still awaiting a premier from a skilled group.  Symphony #1