Dr. Kate Carter is a versatile performer based in Chicago with experience ranging from soloist to chamber collaborator and orchestral musician. She is an in-demand speaker, adjucator and clinician, as well as a dedicated violin instructor, teaching at the Northwestern Music Academy and at North Park University.
An avid chamber musician, Kate performs regularly as a member of Blue Violet Duo, whose critically acclaimed debut CD was chosen as WFMT’s “New Release of the Day” in October 2018. Their second album, released in 2023, was made possible by a grant from the Chicago Musicians Club of Women. Both albums have received airplay and streaming across the US and internationally. In other chamber collaborations, Kate performed as a guest artist with the acclaimed Grossman Ensemble at the University of Chicago in the 2021-22 season. She also appears frequently as guest artist with ensembles including Fulcrum Point New Music Project, International Chamber Artists, and Access Contemporary Music.
As an ensemble member, Kate has recorded for Cedille Records with Camerata Chicago, as well as the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and Ensemble Nouvelle Epoque. She has performed with Chicago-area orchestras including the Lyric Opera Orchestra, Grant Park Symphony, and Music of the Baroque, and she is a regular member of The Chicago Philharmonic Society and the Elgin Symphony Orchestra.
As a concerto soloist, Kate has performed with the Elmhurst Symphony, the Mid-Columbia Symphony, Whiting Park Festival Orchestra, Long Beach City Community Orchestra, Metropolis Youth Orchestra, UCI Symphony, South Orange County Chamber Orchestra, and others.
Dr. Carter is passionate about teaching violinists of all levels and has held teaching assistantships at the Eastman School of Music, Northwestern University, and the Meadowmount School of Music. She is a frequent guest clinician, adjudicator, and chamber music coach at schools and youth orchestras in Chicago. She is currently on the violin and viola faculty at the Northwestern University Music Academy and at North Park University. Her students have won top prizes at the Illinois Music Association State Olympics and are members of area orchestras including the Chicago Youth Symphony and Midwest Young Artists. In summer of 2016 and 2017, her top students performed in the Grant Park Young Artists’ Showcase alongside some 60 of their peers from music schools throughout Chicago.
An in-demand speaker and clinician, Dr. Carter has lectured on peak performance and managing performance anxiety at the ASTA National Conference, ISMTA State Conference, Northeastern Illinois University, Chapman University, the Orange County School of the Arts, Marywood University, and others. She is a member of the Chicago Musicians Club of Women, where she served as the Performance Chair for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 concert seasons.
Kate holds a Doctorate of Music in Violin Performance from Northwestern University, where she received the Emma Peters Hooper scholarship and was teaching assistant to Gerardo Ribeiro. Kate received her Master’s Degree from the Eastman School of Music on scholarship, where she was teaching assistant to Lynn Blakeslee. Her previous instructors include Haroutune Bedelian and William Fitzpatrick.
