Katrina Emtage : Associate Artist
Katrina Emtage is a flute player and teacher. As a composer and
performer she writes extensively for flute, bass flute and alto
flute in flute ensembles or in combination with other
instruments, showcasing the rich tonal possibilities of the flute
family and sometimes incorporating improvisational elements.
Influences from contemporary and world music create evocative
sounds that blend lyrical melodies with extended techniques and
scales influenced by non-Western music. These pieces often
balance expressive, flowing lines with rhythmic or dance-like
sections, combining modern compositional ideas with a deep sense
of mood and atmosphere.
A native of Sydney, Australia, Katrina now lives in Cork, Ireland
and lectures in flute at the MTU Cork School of Music and also
teaches at the Cork ETB School of Music.
She attended the Sydney Conservatorium High School studying flute
with Michael Scott and Geoffrey Collins and graduated with an
advanced performance diploma (DSCM). The award of a Queen
Elizabeth Silver Jubilee scholarship enabled her to study at the
University of Music in Vienna with principal flute of the Vienna
Philharmonic, Wolfgang Schulz where she completed her MA in 1995.
In Vienna she freelanced with many orchestras and ensembles
including contemporary music ensemble Klangforum Wien, with whom
she performed on many occasions including for the Salzburg
Festival and at the Guggenheim Museum in New York.More recently
she was invited to perform with Hifilutin flute quartet at the
International Low Flutes Festival in Washington
Her compositions are published by Tetractys Publications in
London and her pieces have been played throughout Europe and the
USA. Awards include winner of the National Flute Association
newly published music award for flute quartet 2023 and finalist
in 2024. Winner of the Freescores composition contest 2013.
In 2024 the she was awarded an Arts Council of Ireland Agility
Award which enabled her to attend the Grolloo flute sessions and
further research arranging and writing for flutes. In recent
years she has played also given concerts and masterclasses in
Italy as part of an ongoing Erasmus exchange. She is musical
director of the CAFE Cork Flute Ensemble based in MTU and a
member of the Hifilutin Flute Quartet.
Besides composing, teaching and performing she also plays
traditional Irish music and enjoys sailing and yoga. In 2016 she
returned to life on the land after a 3 year sailing adventure,
circumnavigating the world with her husband on a 13m boat.
Biography provided by the composer