By Shemida Anderson
Katherine Brooks
Katherine Brooks started playing the violin when she was a freshman in high school, and was taught by Pat Anders during the summers between her junior and senior years, and between her senior year and college. Later she studied at UWM with Leonard Sorkin.
In 1975 she went to California and played with the Sacramento Symphony for 3 years and from there she went to Texas and attended Rice University on a Dorothy Starling fellowship where she studied with Cyrus Forough and Eudice Shapiro.
In 1981 she toured for a year performing the opera “Porgy and Bess” by Gershwin. In 1982 she met Mimi Zweig and took her pedagogy class every Friday. She went on to teach at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music for 8 years.
She is currently the principal second violinist with the Milwaukee Ballet Orchestra, and performs with the Waukesha Symphony and Bel Canto Orchestra. She also plays for her church, weddings and other occasions.
I enjoy very much having her as my teacher. My brothers James and Warren and my sister Shirley also share the honor of being taught by her. Katie feels music lessons can help develop important skills her students may find helpful throughout the course of their lives. Such skills are the discipline of doing the same thing every day (i.e. practicing), memorization, following directions, the ability to perform in front of others, and many other things.
A while ago the pinky of her left hand was severely injured. Some nerves were even severed. She went through many surgeries and a lot of physical therapy. She followed the good advice she had been giving her students and has resumed her teaching and performance schedule. She is an excellent teacher and a great source of inspiration. My life is better in many ways because of Katie Brooks.
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