After playing with the Kansas City Symphony as Acting Principal Harp from 2022–2025, Katherine Ventura joined the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra as Principal Harp in the fall of 2025.
Ms. Ventura appears frequently with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, as guest principal and second harp, including on recordings and international tours. She will also be joining the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as Acting Principal Harp for the 2025–2026 season.
She has performed as guest principal harp with the Chicago, Houston, National, St. Louis, Baltimore, and Virginia Symphony Orchestras, Minnesota Orchestra, Rochester Philharmonic, United States Air Force Band, and on trial with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, UK. In addition she has performed with the Toronto and Charlotte Symphony Orchestras and with the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra.
She has been Principal Harp with the Music in the Mountains Orchestra in Durango, CO since 2023. Festival appearances include the Sun Valley Music Festival in Idaho as Principal and Second Harp, Principal Harp of the Britt Festival Orchestra (Oregon), Principal Harp of the Verbier Festival Orchestra (Switzerland), Spoleto Music Festival, Pacific Music Festival (Japan), Aspen Music Festival, and with the National Repertory Orchestra.
Passionate about music education, Ms. Ventura maintains a private studio and serves as a Teaching Artist for the Lyra Society. She has held faculty positions at Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges in Philadelphia, the Music Institute of Chicago, and The People’s Music School in Chicago. Ms. Ventura is pursuing a Doctorate in Musical Arts at Temple University and holds degrees from the Chicago College of Performing Arts and Carnegie Mellon University. Her principal teachers include Gretchen Van Hoesen, Elizabeth Hainen, and Sarah Bullen.