Presented By
Summer in the City
Kathleen Parks
Kathleen Parks
Image courtesy of the artist
Born and raised in New York's Hudson Valley, Kathleen Parks has grown up with the love of music around her and within. Her Irish heritage inspired her at an early age to become a remarkable Irish fiddler and dancer, and with a jazz influence coming from the trumpet playing of her father, Eric Parks, she easily took on jazz improvisation and incorporated it into her Irish tunes. In 2012 she accepted a full scholarship to Berklee College of Music for violin performance and songwriting. Since then, she’s begun her professional music career writing, arranging, and performing with her bands, bluegrass-based Twisted Pine and new-age instrumental Cat and the Moon.
She has had the opportunity to share the stage with artists such as the Punch Brothers, Darol Anger, Peter Rowan, Aoife O’Donovan, Claire Lynch, and many more. Her most recent duo project is Kat Parks and Brad Bensko. Her sound incorporates influences from writers such as Harry Nilsson, Paul McCartney, and Paul Simon. She has performed on numerous recordings, and most recently put out an album with Elias Alexander and the Bywater Band which features her Celtic fiddle playing. As a teacher, Parks has began teaching privately and group master classes focusing on Celtic, Americana roots, and rhythmic techniques.