From a young age, Katelyn McClinton always held an interest in music. Her parents, both musicians themselves, introduced her to classical music as she grew up. At the age of 9, she began taking violin classes through her school. A year later, she began lessons with Karen Lauffer and studied with her for 4 years.

In her high school years, Katelyn then studied with Dr. Courtney Orlando, who was her primary teacher until high school graduation. Towards the end of her high school career, decided that she would continue her music education through college. In the fall of 2011, Katelyn attended The Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College, studying with Dr. Yeon-Su Kim. Throughout her 4 years at Gettysburg, Katelyn participated and performed in groups like the Gettysburg College Symphony Orchestra, Metta Ensemble, and Sunderman Strings, which included a performance in New York City.

Thanks to the years spent at college, Katelyn has a major interest in chamber music and hopes to continue performing chamber music in her career. She has attended music festivals throughout numerous summers, including the International Music Institute and Festival in Maryland and the InterHarmony Music Festival in Tuscany, Italy. Katelyn has a Bachelor’s in Music Performance from the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College and a Master’s of Music Performance from Towson University. She has also studied with the late John Eaken, Grammy-nominated violinist and former concertmaster of the York Symphony.

Originally from the York, PA area, Katelyn is currently a private violin instructor in the Hagerstown, MD area, giving violin lessons to beginning, intermediate and advanced students. She also teaches at the Roberson School of Music in Columbia, MD. She has been teaching for 7 years and works with each student to find their own unique path in music.

Katelyn has also performed with the West Shore Symphony Orchestra and Hanover Symphony Orchestra, both in the Central PA area. In 2018, Katelyn joined the Gettysburg Chamber Orchestra and performs with the group regularly. She is the founder of Stravaganza Piano Trio. In 2021, Katelyn began working on her DMA degree at Shenandoah University and Conservatory, studying with Akemi Takayama. She plans to continue studying and performing works of black composers, as well as learning other methods of teaching and playing contemporary music.

When not performing music, Katelyn enjoys diving into other creative outlets by writing stories as well as doing makeup.