Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Hedrick
Hi Katie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started writing music when I saw a classmate doing the same. I was two years younger than him and grew up watching him learn the viola and composition and thought it was the coolest talent! The same year he graduated and chose music composition as his major, I attended the West Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts. Here, I experimented writing original music for the first time. It was the springboard I needed to decide I also wanted to pursue this career. Now, I am in KC after getting my Master’s of Music in Composition from the UMKC Conservatory.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My biggest struggle as a musician has been my relationship with my instrument, viola. The relationship has been complex in the past, but is finally achieving some clarity. It was at its lowest just before moving to Kansas City. I was only looking into graduate programs that wouldn’t require me to play viola. Being here has allowed me to grow alongside my instrument and integrate it into my practice as a composer. I much more clearly understand how it fits into my life. I have made lovely friends and colleagues by playing music with others and wouldn’t change a thing! Developing a healthy relationship with your instrument is vital.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I bring a fresh voice to contemporary classical music because of the two things I know and love the most: viola music, and k-pop! The combination results in music that has repeated motives, attention to color, and a clear map throughout the work. K-pop that I love the most has thick textures, high highs, and low lows, This shows in my work.
I am most proud of work I have done at festivals. I have participated in the Connecticut Summerfest, the Alba New Music Festival Composition Program, and Composing in the Wilderness. These festivals have taken me to cities in Italy and the mountain peaks of Alaska (not to mention, traversing virtual music making in 2020). I have been lucky to be well traveled and in company that encourages the most exciting parts of my creative self to surface.
Alright, so to wrap up, is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Keep an ear out for viola in local artist’s music. It might just be me playing session viola! I have loved working with local singer-songwriters and am looking to keep digging into this part of my career.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katiehedrickcomposer.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katiehedrickcomposer/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@katiehedrickcomposer
