Catherine Woods, 18, violin

Introductions today features the recent concertmaster of the Northwest Indiana Symphony Youth Orchestra, Catherine Woods. She’s already an active violin and piano teacher, and in this recital she presents music by Bach, Beethoven, Boulanger, and Saint-Saëns. Thanks to collaborative pianist Andrew Rosenblum and also to the Rhapsody Theater for hosting Introductions. Catherine Woods, an 18-year-old homeschooler from Highland, Indiana, has been playing violin since she was four and teaching violin and piano since she was sixteen. She played in the Northwest Indiana Symphony Youth Orchestra for five years as well as in their string quartets and jazz ensemble; and won the 2020 NISYO Concerto Competition. Her past teachers include Timothy Woods, Carl Johnston, Ana Simonovska, and Karl Linden, and she currently studies with Frank Almond. Catherine discovered a love of teaching music early on and seeks to make it a major part of her life’s work. She currently teaches about 30 violin and piano students both at her home and at the Hammond Montessori Schoolhouse. She organizes regular recitals for her students and can usually be found devouring books about violin pedagogues in her free time. She also recently started writing weekly articles on violin repertoire and technique for The Violin Lounge. This fall, Catherine will attend Indiana University Jacobs School of Music for violin performance. When not doing violin, she enjoys dancing, baking, cantoring at her parish in Whiting, and hanging out with her four siblings.