Kate Mariana Brown (she/her) has been playing piano since age four. She studied for twelve years with Jean Krinke in Saint Anthony Park, Minnesota, frequently performing in recitals and competitions such as the Minnesota Music Teachers Association State Contest, which awarded her first place in the Junior Young Artist and Senior Young Artist piano and pipe organ competitions. Highlights of her career include performing in London at the Royal College of Music, performing Franz Liszt's Un Sospiro in a masterclass with Nelita True of Eastman School of Music, studying with Kathryn Brown of Cleveland Institute of Music, performing as a guest pianist twice with Minnesota Philharmonic Orchestra, performing with three-time Grammy winner Jamecia Bennett at the Dakota and the Ordway Concert Hall, music directing Disney's Newsies at Artistry Theater, and assistant music directing Into the Woods at the Guthrie Theater.

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While attending the University of Minnesota to receive a Bachelor of Music in piano performance, Kate studied with Juilliard-trained pianist Dr. Paul Shaw and was the winner of the Marvin O. Mechelke II Piano Scholarship Competition. She enjoyed collaborating in piano duos including performances of Debussy's Petite Suite, Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, and Milhaud's Scaramouche, being an alto in the University of Minnesota Gospel Choir under the direction of Sanford Moore, playing accordion in the University of Minnesota Tango Ensemble, and performing in the Steel Drum Ensemble. She also continued studying pipe organ with Jean Krinke, Dr. Dean Billmeyer and Dr. Allan Mahnke, and worked as organist at Saint Anthony Park United Methodist Church for four years. After graduating, Kate was the recipient of the Mark Mothersbaugh Scholarship and earned a Specialist Certificate in Orchestration for Film and TV from Berklee College of Music, studying with Steve MacLean, Pinar Toprak, and Ben Newhouse.

 

Her love for collaboration began at a young age with piano duets and continued with piano trios, chamber music, and accompanying countless soloists and instrumentalists for auditions, concerts, and recordings. Some highlights include co-winning the 2005 Northwestern College Piano Ensemble Festival with Eri Isomura, and performing Mendelssohn's Piano Trio no. 1 in D minor, op. 49 with The Willow Trio coached by Minnesota Orchestra cellist Sachiya Isomura. Kate has taught over sixty piano students throughout the years, has been a lead teaching artist for a musical theatre camp at the Guthrie, and currently accompanies voice majors at University of St. Thomas as well as choirs and voice studios at Saint Paul Central High School, Minnehaha Academy, and Breck School. She also loves collaborating with her friends in Pavia Wind Quintet and has performed regularly with them throughout the Twin Cities including works by Poulenc, Strauss, Reinecke, Maslanka, Françaix, Larsen, Higdon, Rimsky-Korsakov, Ewazen, Bunch, Holst, and Thuille.

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As a pit musician, Kate has performed in over two dozen professional productions in the Twin Cities including shows at Artistry Theater at Bloomington Center for the Arts, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, Lyric Arts, and Theater Latté Da. She first fell in love with musical theatre in her senior year of college when she played piano and sound effects for eighty performances of the University of Minnesota theater department's Triumph of Love on the Centennial Showboat at Harriet Island in Saint Paul. Four years later she was composer, pianist, and music director for the musical comedy Austen-tacious! at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Since then, she has been fortunate to find a home within the Twin Cities theatre community where she has accompanied thousands of auditions, had the opportunity to sub for the national tour of Hairspray, and had the privilege to work with Peter Rothstein, Michael Matthew Ferrell, David Holcenberg, Michael Heitzman, and Sarna Lapine.

 

Artistry Theater

The Drowsy Chaperone

The Baker's Wife 

Little Shop of Horrors 

The Secret Garden

The Music Man

Follies

Legally Blonde (keyboard 2)

Mary Poppins

She Loves Me (piano / accordion)

Victor / Victoria (accordion)

Footloose

A New Brain

The Bridges of Madison County

Songs for a New World

Little Women

Shrek

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (keyboard 2)

Disney's Newsies (music director / keys 1 / conductor)

Waitress (keyboard 2 / tambourine)

 

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Beauty and the Beast (rehearsal pianist, keyboard 1 and 2 sub)

Hairspray (keyboard 2 sub)

The Little Mermaid (keyboard 2)

Legally Blonde (keyboard 3)

 

Chanhassen Dinner Theatres

The Prom (keyboard and conductor sub)

Jersey Boys (keyboard and conductor sub)

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical (keyboard 2 sub)

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Lyric Arts

Big Fish (keyboard 2)

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Theater Latté Da

Journey On (piano-conductor sub)

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Guthrie Theater

Into the Woods (assistant music director)

 

Kate is a member of the Twin Cities Musicians Union, American Federation of Musicians.

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