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Katy Ambrose, French horn
Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a “spectacular” and “graceful” musician, Katy Ambrose has made a name for herself as an educator, chamber and orchestral performer. She is on faculty at the University of Virginia, where is an Assistant Professor in the McIntire Department of Music and an Academic Faculty Fellow at Hereford Residential College. In her role at UVa she also serves as Principal Horn of the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra.
Katy’s extensive orchestral experience includes positions in the Delaware Symphony Orchestra (current), Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Philly Pops!, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic (KY), as well as substitute appearances with numerous orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Hawai’i Opera Theater, Chamber Music Honolulu, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Harrisburg Symphony, Vermont Symphony and the New Haven Symphony. In the realm of Historically Informed Performance Practice, Katy has performed on Baroque horn with the Washington Baroque Consort, and on Classical horn at the Staunton Music Festival.
As a soloist and chamber musician she has commissioned and performed world premieres of pieces by Rene Orth, Sarah DuBois, Rachel Devorah Wood Trapp, Lucy Pankhurst, Katherine McMichael, Scott Boerma, and James Territo. She commissioned and performed the world premiere of Boerma’s “Isle of Skye” at the 2012 Edinburgh Easter Festival. Outside of the classical setting, Ambrose has played for Adele, Cee Lo Green, Andrea Bocelli, and as a recording artist for NFL Studios.
Katy is involved with the Boulanger Initiative, a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, DC that promotes music by women through performance, education, and commissions. Katy was a co-founder of Seraph Brass, and is a founding member of Izula Horns, a quartet of horn players from the Washington, DC area who are dedicated to blending high quality performance with immersive community engagement.
Katy is especially interested in mentoring younger musicians and has taught for and developed programs and curricula for several education programs including the Philadelphia Orchestra School Partnership Program, Delaware Symphony school program and the “El-Sistema” inspired programs Tune-Up, Philly and Play On, Philly!
Ambrose earned an Artist Diploma from Yale University, Masters degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. She was the recipient of the prestigious William D. Revelli Award at University of Michigan and the Henry and Lucy Moses Fellowship at Yale. She is currently working on her dissertation to complete the Doctor of Musical Arts at Temple University.