Dr. Kate Carter is a versatile violinist specializing in chamber music. She is a founding member of Blue Violet Duo, whose critically acclaimed 2018 debut album, American Souvenirs, received a grant from the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events. The duo has been heard at Weill Auditorium at Carnegie Hall, the Dame Myra Hess series, and on radio stations across the US. Stringendo Magazine wrote that “[The duo] excels at both extremes, from the nuanced and restrained to the incandescent and extravagant.” Kate’s new music credits include a 2009 fellowship at the Lucerne Festival Academy in Switzerland under the baton of Pierre Boulez. She performs frequently with Fulcrum Point New Music Ensemble, International Chamber Artists, Chicago Philharmonic Chamber Players, and Access Contemporary Music, and is a former member of Chicago Q Ensemble, a string quartet dedicated to the performance of works by living composers. Chicago Q collaborated with Manual Cinema in the 2012 premiere of FJORDS, a multidisciplinary show based on the poems of Zachary Schomburg, and released the debut recording of string quartets by Amy Wurtz.
As a soloist, Kate has appeared with orchestras including the Mid-Columbia Symphony (WA), Long Beach City Chamber Orchestra (CA), South Orange County Chamber Orchestra (CA), UCI Symphony (CA), Elmhurst Symphony (IL), Whiting Park Festival Orchestra (IN), and Metropolitan Youth Symphony (IL).
Dr. Carter received a Master of Music from the Eastman School of Music and a doctoral degree from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University. She is on the artist teaching faculties of Northwestern University’s Music Academy and Lake Forest College. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Musicians Club of Women as the Chair of the Performance Committee.