Biography
Kate Prestia-Schaub is an active and enthusiastic performing and recording artist in Southern California. With degrees in flute performance from the University of Southern California (MM) and Indiana University (BM), her beloved teachers have been Jim Walker, Tom Robertello, Kate Lukas, and Maralyn Prestia. She is the first-place winner of many prestigious competitions, most notably the 2002 National Flute Association Piccolo Artist Competition, the 2008 San Diego Flute Guild Artist Gold Competition, the 2001 Indiana University Woodwind Concerto Competition, and the 1997 Denver Young Artist Orchestra Concerto Competition. Kate made her solo piccolo debut with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra at age 18, and since then, has concertized throughout the United States and abroad as a Powell Performing Artist.
Passionate about expanding the solo piccolo repertoire, Kate enjoys working with world-renowned composers to inspire incredible new standard piccolo literature. Martin Kennedy, Daniel Dorff and Frederick Lesemann, among others, have written piccolo repertoire expressly for Kate, and she has performed the world premiere of their works at National Flute Association Conventions, International Piccolo Symposiums, and many additional notable flute festivals. The premier recordings of these works appear on her highly acclaimed debut album, Timeless, which she recorded with Martin Kennedy in 2013.
Kate has been featured many times as soloist with the Temecula Valley Symphony, and has served as their principal flutist since 2007. She has also performed as soloist with the California Chamber Orchestra, also regularly participating in their subscription concerts. She is fortunate to collaborate with some of the finest professional musicians in Southern California, performing solo and chamber music in a variety of ensembles. The flute/piano duo Ekatra (with Jeanette-Louise Yaryan), and the West Coast Wind Quintet (with Margaret Worsley, Elizabeth Low-Atwater, Cat Cantrell, and Kristin Morrison), have both won critical acclaim. Kate is a regular soloist for the “Classics at the Merc,” “Rancho Bernardo Music Guild,” and many additional classical concert and chamber music series.
Ms. Prestia-Schaub is on faculty at Idyllwild Arts Academy where she teaches performance and chamber music classes in the woodwind department. She enjoys teaching a fantastic group of dedicated flute students in Temecula, California and has lovingly coined the studio as “K8trills.” As a Powell Flutes Master Teacher, Kate facilitates piccolo and flute master classes at elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as universities and flute festivals throughout the country through their Pedagogics Project. In addition, she provides coaching to the flute sections at Shivela Middle School, Vista Murrieta High School, Murrieta Valley High School, Murrieta Mesa High School, and the woodwind section of the Temecula Valley Youth Symphony. She is often invited to evaluate competitions for organizations such as National Flute Association, Music Teachers Association of California, Music Teacher’s National Association, and San Diego Flute Guild. She strives to provide encouraging and helpful comments to all of the extraordinary students she comes in contact with.
In order to bring exceptional activities and opportunities to Southern California for professional musicians and students alike, Kate has served as president of the San Diego Flute Guild, and Music Teachers’ Association of California – Temecula Valley Branch. She has also participated on the orchestra committee for the Temecula Valley Symphony, educational advisor for outreach programs for the California Chamber Orchestra, on the membership advisory committee and co-coordinator for the Youth Flute Day for the National Flute Association.
In addition to her life and love in the music world, Kate enjoys spending time with her husband Kevin, their kitties Milo and Millie, and their Maltese, Merlin. She enjoys the beach, the mountains, the smell and colors of spring, oh, and London Fog lattes.