Artist Bio

About Kate

A dynamic and engaging performer, harpist Kate Loughrey is known for her versatility playing classical, jazz, pop, and folk music. Originally from Carlsbad, California, Kate is a freelance musician throughout the Southern California area. As an alumna of HarpFusion, the internationally acclaimed touring ensemble, she has toured as a member and soloist to Asia, Europe, and throughout the U.S., and has recorded two CDs with the group: 25th Anniversary Spectacular and Harps On Tour. The latter features her transcription of the Boieldieu Concerto in C for 14 harps and orchestra.

Kate has performed several world premieres for symphonic and chamber ensembles and is active as both an arranger and composer for the harp. She is also a member of The Sprezzatura Duo, formed with fellow harpist Anastasia Pike. "Sprezzatura" means "the art of making something difficult look effortless." The duo demonstrates the art of "sprezzatura" in their fun, creative, and entertaining concert programs that appeal to audiences of all ages.

As a soloist, Kate has been recognized both nationally and internationally for her playing. Notable honors include placing as a finalist twice in the American Harp Society Foundation Awards national competition and as a semi-finalist for the National Alliance for Excellence in Performing Arts. In the summer of 2011, she was selected as one of 15 young professionals from around the world to perform at the World Harp Congress in Vancouver, Canada.

Kate holds a Master of Music in Harp Performance from the Peabody Conservatory of The Johns Hopkins University. She has also studied at l'Ecole Normale de Musique d'Alfred Cortot in Paris and is a Fellow of the Royal Schools of Music in London (FRSM), completing the ABRSM diploma syllabus with distinction in 2009. Kate is currently a Ph.D candidate and Provost's Fellow at the University of Southern California. Her principal teachers have included Dr. Carrol McLaughlin, Dr. Ruth Inglefield, Isabelle Perrin, JoAnn Turovsky, and Dorinne Yoder.

In addition to performing, Kate enjoys teaching both folk harp and concert harp to students of all ages and abilities at her private studios in Los Angeles and San Diego. She has also coached undergraduate harp majors in orchestral playing at the Peabody Conservatory, worked as a teaching assistant for the Arizona Harp Experience (a summer camp for college-bound students), and was recently appointed as a graduate teaching assistant in music history at USC.