GRETCHEN SAATHOFF, pianist, performs as a soloist and has collaborated often with both singers and instrumentalists in recitals, as well as in numerous prestigious competitions in New York, Boston and Philadelphia. She was pianist for two national tours with the Norman Luboff Choir in venues from Idaho to Florida. Ms. Saathoff was a fellowship student at the Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals and studied chamber music with the eminent violinist Joseph Fuchs. She earned a Bachelor of Music degree in piano performance at UMass Amherst, after which she began commuting to New York to study with the internationally known coach/accompanist Martin Katz. She holds a Master of Music degree with distinction from Westminster Choir College, where she continued to study accompanying and coaching with Mr. Katz, graduating first in her class. In addition to Mr. Fuchs and Mr. Katz, her teachers have included Joan Dornemann, Kenneth Cooper, Joel Krosnick and Harvey Shapiro. Major influences also include William Warfield, Alice Parker, and Thomas Dunn.
Following graduate school, Ms. Saathoff lived in New York for eighteen years. She was a founding member of Kairos, a piano trio, and the Rautenberg-Saathoff Duo, for violin and piano. She relocated to Amherst, MA, in 1999, where she is accompanist for the Amherst College and Hampshire College choruses. In addition, she plays rehearsals and concerts for the Valley Light Opera, and has worked with Commonwealth Opera and the Pioneer Valley Symphony. Most recently, she played in the pit orchestra for The Fantasticks, a 7-week run at the Majestic Theater in West Springfield, MA. Her solo concerts include frequent appearances in New York; South Glastonbury, CT; Princeton, NJ; Amherst, Greenfield, Williamsburg and South Deerfield, MA; and Burlington, IA.
Pianist and Vocal Coach
