New to Orange County, Kathy Burrell is a cellist and educator previously based in Indianapolis.
She has performed as an orchestral musician around Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan in addition
to being a clinician, sectional coach, and private instructor.
Formerly on adjunct faculty at the University of Indianapolis, she was a cello instructor in its
Community Music Academy in addition to performing with the UIndy Symphony Orchestra.
Concurrent with her studio at the University of Indianapolis, she held a large private studio in the
greater Indianapolis area. Her most recent student achievements include membership with the
Youth Orchestra of Indianapolis’ Symphony and Philharmonic Orchestras, alternate cellist for
the Indiana High School All-State Orchestra, principal of the East Central Indiana Youth
Orchestra, participation in Indiana All-Region Honor Orchestras, and participation in chamber
music and orchestral festivals around Indiana.
As a clinician, she has taught sectionals to the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Indianapolis Youth
Symphony, Ball State University’s Campus Orchestra, and 2022 Indiana State School Music
Association (ISSMA) State Champion Avon High School Symphony Orchestra. In the summer of
2023, she acted as a member of the ISSMA Grade 1 Manual Revision Committee to spearhead
diversity and inclusion of compositions and updated editions of cello solo/chamber repertoire for
the statewide Solo and Ensemble Contest where she has been a frequent judge.
As an orchestral and chamber musician, she has played with symphonies around the Midwest
including Illinois Symphony, Southwest Michigan Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Indiana,
Danville Symphony, and Lafayette Symphony. She has also recorded with Broadway star Sutton
Foster on her 2018 studio album ‘Take Me to the World’ on Ghostlight Records. As a student,
she attended the Domaine Forget Summer Academy where she participated in a masterclass
with Johannes Moser; Fresno Orchestra Opera Summer Academy (FOOSA), where she also
she helped teach the Half-Day Academy under scholarship duties; and the Green Mountain
Chamber Music Festival, where she participated in a masterclass with Emerson String Quartet
cellist, Paul Watkins.
She received her Bachelors and Masters of Music Performance at Ball State University under
the tutelage of Peter Opie, a pupil of acclaimed cellist and pedagogue Richard Aaron. She has
participated in masterclasses with David Finckel and Wu Han, Joshua Roman, Alan Rafferty,
and Amir Eldan alongside studies with Alison Wells and Thomas Loewenheim.