Originally from Trowbridge, Wiltshire, Katherine is a graduate of the GRNCM/MusB 'Joint Course', run between the Royal Northern College of Music and the University of Manchester, where she studied violin with Julia Hanson and conducting with Robert Guy. She graduated from the University of Manchester with a first-class honours degree in July 2020 and was awarded the GRNCM diploma in July 2021.

Through her work as a conductor, Katherine aims to cultivate a stimulating musical environment which inspires musicians to perform with commitment and energy, and therefore create engaging performances that have a powerful impact on audiences. Having trained as an orchestral violinist and chamber musician, she believes it is important as a conductor to treat all music making as a collaborative process, where everyone’s
contributions are valued and musical risk taking is encouraged.

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In July 2021, Katherine made her professional conducting debut at the Buxton International Festival, where she conducted three performances of Jonathan Dove's community opera 'The Enchanted Pig', working alongside a cast and creative team of fellow students and alumni from the University of Manchester. Following this, she was selected to participate in a masterclass at the Royal Opera House, working on excerpts from Mozart's 'Le Nozze di Figaro'. She has also worked as an assistant conductor with Heritage Opera (‘Cosi Fan Tutte’, June 2019) and the West of England Youth Orchestra (January 2019), and participated in masterclasses with the BBC Philharmonic (September 2019) and the Dartington International Summer School (August 2023). Conductors she has attended masterclasses with include Jonathan Mann, Alice Farnham, Sian Edwards, Jessica Cottis, Mark Heron and Clark Rundell.

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Katherine enjoys working with student and amateur ensembles and her experience ranges from symphonic repertoire to wind orchestras and chamber choirs. She was musical director of the Crosby Capriol Singers for three years, before taking up the post of principal conductor with the Huddersfield Philharmonic Orchestra in May 2022. She also works regularly as a guest conductor with groups including the Cheltenham Chamber Orchestra, Solway Sinfonia and Orchestra of Square Chapel in Halifax. Katherine is the founder and principal conductor of the Manchester Philharmonic Orchestra, a dynamic new amateur orchestra based in south Manchester.