It has been a joy working with Katy Rose over the past several years both in private lessons and in the MIC trumpet ensembles. One of my proudest moments was seeing her perform at the Birch Creek Jazz Festival a few years ago in Door County, WI. She is a very accomplished musician and a wonderful person. I feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to work with students like Katy Rose, and as you will see by her personal statement, she does much more than play a trumpet! Best of luck to you Katy Rose! We will all miss you!Katy Rose will perform the Halsey Stevens Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, Mvt. 1,  at this evening’s Spring Studio Recital, and will join the MIC Trumpet Ensembles as a special guest performer.

“My name is Katy Rose O’Brien and I recently graduated from Loyola Academy.  I started playing trumpet in 5^th grade after hearing a brass quartet play at my school and being amazed at how beautiful the trumpet sounded.  Coincidentally, it turned out that the trumpet player in the brass quartet that day who inspired me to pick up the trumpet was Chris Hasselbring! My first lesson with Chris was in 6^th grade and I have been studying with him ever since.  I am extremely grateful that he has been my trumpet teacher for the past 7 years.  He is a wonderful and understanding teacher who has helped me appreciate and enjoy music in a way that no other teacher has.  I would not be the trumpet player I am today without him.

In addition to taking lessons I played in a MIC trumpet ensemble for four years along with playing in Loyola’s Symphonic and Marching Bands.  I received Loyola’s Patrick S. Gilmore Band Award in 2012 for my leadership in Loyola’s Band Program and was selected to play in the IMEA District 7 Jazz Band and the All-Catholic Honors Band.  Throughout high school I also played in jazz bands and combos through the Midwest Young Artists program. In the past four years I have worked my way up from the lowest jazz ensemble to the top band, and being the only girl makes no difference there because skill is what matters.  Big Band has given me a community of people who do not take themselves too seriously and truly reflect my passion for music.Apart from playing music I rowed on Loyola’s crew team for four years.  My boat qualified for Scholastic Rowing Nationals 3 of my 4 years rowing, and my sophomore year we placed in the top 6 in the nation.  Crew has given me some of my closest friends and an amazing community.  In addition to crew I was a Dumbach scholar and participated in Loyola’s Arrupe Community Service program, Amnesty International, and Labre Outreach program through Loyola’s Justice Seminar class.  Next year I will be attending Amherst College where I am considering studying art history, biology, history or classical civilizations.  I will also definitely stay involved with both classical and jazz music.”