Kate Steinbeck loves teaching and revels in guiding students of all ages to discover the joy of making music and to achieve new levels of accomplishment and self-awareness. Growing up in Western North Carolina, Kate began playing flute in a public-school music program. Her love of music, languages, travel, and spirit of discovery led her on wonderful adventures far from her childhood home but ultimately brought her back to Asheville when she met flute maker Chris Abell. Since returning to Asheville in 1997, Kate has been busy raising their two children, teaching and creating Pan Harmonia, a professional repertory company.
 

Now in its 20th season, Pan Harmonia shares its music with audiences of all ages in diverse settings — ranging from traditional concert halls to homeless shelters and prisons. Pan Harmonia has been awarded grants for its artistic excellence and imaginative programming from the North Carolina Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts. Kate has also produced two critically acclaimed CDs: “Light in the Corner” with percussionist Byron Hedgepeth and “Luminescence” with guitarist Amy Brucksch.

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Kate earned a BM from Baldwin-Wallace College, studying with William Hebert (Cleveland Orchestra), followed by a Fulbright scholar to study chamber music in Belgium. She later spent several years performing and teaching in Germany before returning to the US to pursue a MM at the San Francisco Conservatory as a student of Tim Day (SF Symphony).  She is recognized across the US and abroad as a passionate teacher and coach, unique interpreter, and innovative music producer with a repertoire that ranges from Bach to Balinese. Kate has presented master classes for the Spanish Flute Convention, (Madrid), Belgian Royal Conservatories (Liège and Mons), New England Flute Fair, (Boston), Raleigh Area Flute Association, Duke University, the Fine Arts Center, (Greenville, SC), and the Northern California Flute Camp.

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Kate plays on a modern wooden flute manufactured by her husband, Chris Abell, of the Abell Flute Co. She loves learning languages, speaks French and German, and is now pursuing Spanish.