Meet Your
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Originally from Austin, Texas, Katherine Velasquez is the Principal Flutist of the Missouri Symphony and previously held the same position with the Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale, where she was a member of the West Texas woodwind quintet.  During her tenure in Midland-Odessa, she served on the faculty of the University of Texas Permian Basin as well as Odessa College.  

Ms. Velasquez has performed with the San Antonio Symphony, the Austin Symphony, and is a substitute player with the Houston Symphony and the New World Symphony. Ms. Velasquez has been highly involved in the National Flute Association throughout her career and is among only a coveted few flutists who have ever won first prize in two NFA Competitions.  She was awarded First Prize in the inaugural Alto Flute Competition (Salt Lake City 2019), won First Prize in the Orchestral Audition & Masterclass Competition (San Diego 2016), and was a finalist for the High School Soloist Competition (Charlotte 2011).

Ms. Velasquez holds an MM in Flute Performance from West Texas A&M University and a BM magna cum laude in Flute Performance from Boston University.  She was also the Paul Owen McLarand Memorial Music Scholarship Recipient at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, and attended the New England Conservatory of Music.  She is indebted to her mentors Helen Blackburn, Jim Walker, Linda Toote, Elizabeth Rowe, Paula Robison, Rebecca Garfield, and Ann Kjerulf Knien.