ABOUT Kathryn Irwin

SESSION TITLE: Is This Madness?…

VIRTUAL SESSION DATE & TIME: Coming soon…

Dr. Kathryn Irwin is the Assistant Professor of Percussion for the University of Louisiana’s Monroe School of Visual and Performing Arts. Kathryn is a percussion performer and educator from Petal, Mississippi. She has performed with scholastic and professional ensembles throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Performances include Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo for renowned percussionist Keiko Abe, Soochow University in Taiwan, the Cortona Sessions for New Music in Italy, the Eutiner Festspiele and Carl Maria von Weber Concert of Chamber Music in Germany, and the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis. 

As an active soloist and chamber musician in the percussion community, Kathryn is an advocate of expanding the percussion repertoire and prioritizes commissioning new works. She has commissioned composers such as Elliot Cole, Molly Joyce, Joe W. Moore III, Brett William Dietz, and Dave Molk. She enjoys working on collaborative projects with artists of other mediums and professionals outside the field of music as well. The commission of Is This Madness?…, a work for solo percussion and electronics, aims to raise awareness and grow support for members of the bipolar community through performances and clinics. This project consisted of a collaboration with a member of the bipolar community, a licensed psychiatrist, and composer Joe W Moore III. 

As an artist and educator, Kathryn proudly represents Sabian cymbals, Remo Inc., and Vic Firth sticks and mallets. She currently serves as the president of the Louisiana Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society. Kathryn holds degrees from Michigan State University, the University of Kansas, and Louisiana State University, and her primary teachers include Gwen Dease, Dr. Jon Weber, Ji Hye Jung, and Dr. Brett William Dietz.