Biography
Katherine is a violinist in the Sarasota Orchestra and the founder of the Katherine B. Violin Academy, where she maintains a studio of about 30 private violin students from around the world, both virtually and in person. She has enjoyed serving as concertmaster and in the violin section of numerous orchestras in New Jersey, Philadelphia, Chicago, Italy, Florida, and Georgia including the Atlanta Symphony, the Naples Philharmonic, the Florida Orchestra, the Jacksonville Symphony, the Southwest Florida Symphony, and several others. Her playing was described by the Palm Beach Arts Paper as “lovely, poised and accomplished”.
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Throughout her career, Katherine has had the privilege of performing in such concert halls as Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall (NYC), the Kennedy Center (DC), the Chicago Symphony Center, Kimmel Center’s Verizon Hall and Perelman Theater (Philadelphia), and the Adrienne Arsht Center (Miami). During her summers, she has performed in prominent music festivals in Italy, Colorado, Philadelphia, St. Louis, New York, Florida and Kansas. In addition to her private teaching studio, she currently serves as Artist Faculty at the Dali Quartet International Music Festival in Philadelphia and the Porterville Strings Summer Workshop in California.
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Also an avid chamber musician, her string quartet won first prize in the 2016 Lyric Chamber Music Society of New York competition and gave their New York City debut concert in May 2017. She has been mentored by the Penderecki Quartet, the Atrium Quartet, the Arianna Quartet and the Dali Quartet and by members of the Cavani and Bergonzi Quartets.
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Originally from Cherry Hill, NJ, a suburb of Philadelphia, Katherine began playing the violin at age 10. She went on to make her solo debut at age 15 performing Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto with the Ocean City Pops Orchestra and has since appeared as soloist with various other orchestras. In 2010 she was awarded the NJ Governor’s Award in Arts and Education and the same year, the mayor of Cherry Hill proclaimed April 12th “Katherine Baloff Day” in honor of her contributions to the community and representation of her hometown in several local and national orchestra competitions.
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Katherine earned her Master’s Degree and Professional Performance Certificate in violin performance at the Lynn Conservatory of Music in Boca Raton, Florida with Tchaikovsky International Competition winner Elmar Oliveira and earned her Bachelor’s Degree from DePaul University’s School of Music in Chicago, where she studied with three-time international competition gold medal winner, Ilya Kaler. She currently plays on a 2004 Benjamin Ruth violin.
Study with Katherine from anywhere in the world!
Virtual Violin Instruction
Winner of the NJ Governor's Award in Arts Education, Katherine has been teaching the violin both online and in person for over a decade to students of all ages and experience levels from 5 years old to adult. She is so proud of her current and past students who have won auditions to get into prestigious arts high schools as well as their All State youth orchestras and have even won positions in regional orchestras. In addition to her private studio, she serves on the faculty of several music programs including the Dali Quartet International Music Festival in Philadelphia and the Porterville Strings Summer Workshop in California. She also offers exciting online group classes.
Katherine has formal pedagogy training in both Suzuki and traditional teaching methods and incorporates useful aspects of both into her own unique and proven teaching method. Her firm belief is that every student has the potential to learn the violin with the right instruction. Every child learns in their own unique way, so she tailors her teaching style to meet the needs of each individual student. Her goal is to create a friendly and encouraging environment so every child can learn and grow confidently as a musician.
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She also specializes in teaching adults. It's never too late to start learning the violin or continue where you may have left off!
Testimonials
From Current and Past Students
"If you are reading this review wondering if you should sign up for a class with Ms. Katherine, don't hesitate! I feel like I have found a gem with Ms. Katherine. As a teacher myself, I can appreciate the way Katherine uses various teaching methods with my daughter and adapts the lessons based on her needs. She is every positive word you can think of: kind, patient, funny, caring, effective and more. We started out with a trial lesson and it didn't take more than 5 minutes to realize we struck gold! We now take her weekly violin club along with two other private lessons per week. Ms. Katherine is a professional musician and that expertise shines through each lesson. I wish I could give her more than five stars. Highly recommended!"
Rebecca R.
"Love, love, love this teacher!!!! My daughter has completed two sessions and has already learned so much. Katherine has a great energy and clearly loves the violin. She keeps the class entertaining and is very encouraging. My daughter is excited for class (and more importantly excited to practice!)."
Lori T.
"My daughter has been loving her private violin lessons. Katherine is not only knowledgeable but she is so patient and makes learning the violin fun. My daughter is actually excited to practice now and looks forward to her lessons every week. If you are looking for a professional-level experienced violin teacher, look no further!"
Rebecca V.
"My daughters, ages 8 & 9, have been taking lessons with Katherine since September. Katherine is exceptionally patient, focuses on her students, and really pays attention to technique and detail. My oldest says, "I don't think I could have played a 3 minutes song before my Ms. Katherine". My girls had about a year of violin experience prior to having lessons from Katherine and so while she is still teaching them how to play, they are benefitting from her teaching them how to play well."
Amina L.
My nine-year-old has never been so enthusiastic to practice! She really loved the camp, and has made improvements in tone and in just overall attitude about playing. She is begging to do more classes with Katherine.