Called “spellbinding” (Seen and Heard International) with “glow and poise and electric tension” (The Daily Telegraph), the music of composer Katherine Balch captures the magic of everyday sounds, inviting audiences into a sonic world characterized by imagination, discovery, and stylistic variety. Often inspired by literature, nature, and science, she has been described as “some kind of musical Thomas Edison – you can just hear her tinkering around in her workshop, putting together new sounds and textural ideas” (San Francisco Chronicle).
Katherine’s work has been commissioned and performed by leading ensembles including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London Sinfonietta, Ensemble Intercontemporain, and the symphony orchestras of Minnesota, Oregon, Albany, Indianapolis, and Tokyo. She has been featured on IRCAM’s ManiFeste, Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival, and Festival MANCA in Europe, Suntory Summer Arts and Takefu Music Festival in Japan, and the Aspen, Norfolk, Santa Fe, and Tanglewood music festivals in the United States.
Katherine recently completed her tenure as composer-in-residence for the California Symphony, where she was lauded by the Mercury News as a “superbly gifted composer [with] a compositional voice that is truly unique and full of wonder.” She held the 2017-2019 William B. Butz Composition Chair at Young Concert Artists, Inc.
Katherine is the recipient of the 2020-2021 Elliot Carter Rome Prize Fellowship. She has also been honored by ASCAP, BMI, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Chamber Music America, the Barlow Foundation, Civitella Ranieri, and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. Her music is published exclusively worldwide by Schott Music.
Deeply committed to pursuing inclusive, engaging pedagogical practices that empower students through creative music-making, Katherine is currently faculty at Mannes School of Music and a DMA candidate at Columbia University. When not making or listening to music, she can be found hiking, cooking, or napping with her feline sidekick, Zarathustra.
Listen to Off Hesperus.