Pianist, Composer, Educator

 

Acclaimed American pianist Kathryn Woodard curates and performs programs that explore cross-cultural exchange in music. Her international performances have taken her to China, Korea, Croatia, Thailand, Germany, and Turkey. She has performed numerous premiers and collaborated with several composers including Allen Otte, Paula Matthusen and Ge Gan-ru. She served as an American Cultural Specialist for the U.S. Department of State, leading educational initiatives in Kyrgyzstan to introduce audiences to new American music. In the U.S. she has performed at such notable venues as Carnegie Hall, the Freer Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Detroit Institute of Art, and the Dallas Museum of Art. 

In 1997 she began researching the Turkish composer Ahmed Adnan Saygun and has since given numerous performances of solo piano music from Turkey and across Asia. Her recordings have been broadcast widely and select performances have been featured on Performance Today (PRI) and The Front Row (Houston). 

A native of Dallas, Texas, Kathryn Woodard holds the DMA and MM degrees in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music and earned an undergraduate diploma in music pedagogy from the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, Germany. After holding academic appointments at CUNY Hunter College and Texas A&M University, she now focuses on pedagogical initiatives that reach piano students of all ages, including publications of the music she has researched. Visit www.soniccrossroads.com to learn more. 

Kathryn is also active as a composer with numerous piano works for all levels. Listen to a recent Impromptu below and preview other works on the Compositions page.

 

The title "Bells & Shakers" is a specific reference to the polyrhythm created by instruments in an African drumming ensemble. I wrote the piece as the Phillies were heading into the 2022 World Series, so one could take ‘bells and shakers ’ to be local references. I suppose on first glance the title could evoke exotic dancing, which is not at all inappropriate for the sound of the piece.

From the press:

 “Her playing is clear and lucid… She has created a highly personal style…”

-- Fanfare

“… nothing short of stunning.” -- The Washington Post

“… both a formidable technician and a sensitive artist.”

-- The Dallas Morning News   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~Kathryn is scheduling movement training sessions at select locations. Check out the scheduling page 

~Listen to Victory March by Leyla Saz and arranged for concert band by Kathryn at And We Were Heard...

~Listen to Kathryn's latest compositions here

 

Listen to Kathryn