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About Kate
KATE O'BRIEN, leader, violinist and musical arranger for OBRIEN
STRINGS had her first professional music experience with the Knoxville
Symphony in Tennessee at age 15 (they paid for her lessons). In
between a BA from Swarthmore College and her music career she earned
an MLS from the University of Maryland School of Library Science.
She spent 10 years playing electric violin and
guitar, leading her own dance bands doing rock, jazz, swing and
country, traveling throughout the US, Canada and the Caribbean,
and studying jazz with the legendary Linc Chamberland. For several
of those years, she and her husband, a rock 'n roll bass player,
led their band, Elixir, in CT, playing
5-6 nights per week at nightclubs, parties and weddings. Kate was
the only disco violinist around! She also did some traveling with
an all female C&W act, the Honky Tonk Angels, and spent a year on
the road with Julie Grant and Crystal Vision.
After her children were born, she returned to
classical and acoustic music, playing locally in orchestras (needed
a sit down job!), chamber music groups, acoustic bands, musical
theater shows, strolling at restaurants and private events, and
taking private violin lessons again.
Since founding the OBRIEN STRINGS ensembles in
1987, she has played at numerous weddings, private events, concerts,
school presentations, recording studios and outdoor festivals. Her
musical arranging skills allow her to tailor each performance, honoring
special requests. She continues to arrange a broad spectrum of classical
favorites, popular standards, and current music specifically for
her ensembles. Her STRING
TRIO repertoire is one of a kind, and well known for its variety
and suitability for all types of events.
In 1990, after playing in a local orchestra, she
was very impressed by the Conductor and Music Director, Gustav Meier,
the high level of playing, joyful enthusiasm for rehearsal, and
the well organized administration of the concert. In 1991, she successfully
auditioned on violin for the Greater
Bridgeport Symphony Orchestra. She has been playing with them
ever since, applied and was given the position of Personnel Manager
for Strings in 1994, and served also as Librarian from 1995 to 2001.
The Executive Director is Jena Maric, and you can reach her at 203-576-2063
as a reference and to find out more about this local gem of an orchestra.
She presently plays solo, leads her own string
duos, trio, quartet,
and violin/guitar duo and freelances
throughout CT in several orchestras and theaters. She can add trumpet,
flute or harp to the ensembles, and enjoys writing arrangements
for all these small groups.
She also performs regularly with the Irish group
Themselves, and is co-leader of
the swing group Moxie.
Kate currently plays a 1996 Andrius Faruolo violin,
a Guarneri copy, that has made her happier than anything she has
ever purchased before or since. Andrius lives and works in NYC,
and if you want more information about him, please visit
his website.
Kate maintains a private studio of violin and
viola students, and her past teaching experience includes being
the Director of and primary teacher for a local Suzuki school, and
several years at Sacred Heart University.
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