About Me

My work embodies many activities including:

Directing and running my own artistic projects
Running a 501c3 non-profit organization (founder and Artistic Director)
Solo and chamber music performances
Program curation and commissioning of new music works
Performing in/working with creative projects I'm already involved in, including with:

-Musici Ireland (chamber music collective)

-Howay The Lasses (band)

-Semibreve CIC

Creating new artistic work in various genres/styles in collaboration with other artists

Performing as a cellist for hire, including:

-remote and in-person recording sessions for TV, Film and Radio

-special events including corporate and weddings

-music festivals and series as a soloist/festival artist

-performing/recording with professional orchestra and ensembles, such as the BBC Orchestras, Royal Northern Sinfonia and many others

-collaborating with bands, touring shows and popular genres

-performance work on Electric Cello

Teaching and Coaching, including:

-at Durham University

-at Newcastle University

-private tuition (in person and online)

-Masterclasses at universities/music colleges

-coaching cello/cellists, chamber music and orchestral projects, performance psychology

Exam/Competition Adjudication
Guest Speaker and Workshop leader
Serving as an artistic liaison for venues, series, and other arts organizations
Serving on boards of charities and non-profits

If you’re interested in speaking to me about working together, please contact me via my contact page. Thanks!

For my Biography, please click here.

Hi, I’m Katie, an accomplished professional cellist (musician) who works internationally and is based in the UK and seasonally in the USA.

Biography

Award-winning American cellist Katie Tertell is a performer and artistic curator, innovating how classical music is digested in modern times. Katie is the Executive Artistic Director and Founder of the Appalachian Chamber Music Festival, headquartered in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, USA. She is a core member of Musici Ireland , member of critically-acclaimed band Howay the Lasses, artistic lead and co-founder of the “Lost in Plain Sight” research project, and founding member of her duo, Cello Power. Formerly a member of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, she enjoys a rich and varied experience as an artist in Europe, America and globally.

Alongside work with internationally-recognized ensembles and recording projects, Katie focuses her attention on projects that aim to connect people through meaningful experiences in music, working cross disciplinarily and in various sectors. Notable projects include the “Lost in Plain Sight” project (exploring the life and legacy of Gaspar Cassadó), featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, “Cello Power: The Popper Project” featured in The Strad, and close involvement in development of the multi-disciplinary work “Chronically Hopeful” with Musici Ireland, premiered in 2025.

Katie also performs and records regularly with celebrated European symphony and chamber orchestras including in various leadership roles at major venues and festivals like the Barbican and Southbank Centre in London, BBC Proms and the National Concert Hall of Ireland. She can be heard regularly on BBC Radio 3 and RTÈ Lyric FM in recorded and live performances of both chamber and orchestral works. Katie teaches cello at Durham University and Newcastle University (UK).

Katie grew up outside of Washington D.C. in McLean, Virginia. She holds degrees with honors in performance from Indiana University, Cleveland Institute of Music and the Royal Northern College of Music, as well as a Second Masters degree in Suzuki Pedagogy from the Sato Center at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Her teachers and mentors include among many Janos Starker, Emilio Colón, Joely Koos, Peter Dixon and Ralph Kirschbaum. She plays on an 1888 Colin-Mezin cello.