My Very First Cello Method, Vol. 2: My First Steps to Playing the Cello and Understanding Music Theory
Kathryn Schutmaat is a classically trained, professional cellist from a family of musicians who began her career as a concert cellist at an early age. She has worked for more than 25 years in symphony orchestras, chamber music groups, and as a cello teacher at the university level. She is a founding member of the Venezuelan National Youth Symphony Orchestra in 1975 as well as the prestigious “Simón Bolívar” Symphony Orchestra in 1981, both conducted by Maestro José Antonio Abreu, creator of the highly praised “El Sistema” system which is used today in many countries worldwide. In 1992 she became the principal cellist in the Barranquilla Symphony Orchestra in Barranquilla, Colombia. She later became the professor of cello at the University Of Valle Arts Faculty in Cali, Colombia, in addition to working as a full-time orchestral cellist in the Valle Symphony Orchestra and as the associate principal cellist in the Cali Chamber Orchestra during the same period. Kathryn began teaching children as a young cellist herself and believes that the earliest years of training are essential for the success of cello playing.