Katherine Lewis

- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
Biography
Violist Katherine Lewis enjoys a multifaceted career as a performer, educator, and researcher specializing in viola technique and string pedagogy. Since 2006 she has taught courses in applied viola, string pedagogy, and chamber music to students at Illinois State University where she is Professor of Viola and Director & Master Teacher for the ISU String Project.
An active soloist, Dr. Lewis performs frequently across the U.S., and her recent recording of viola works by Roque Cordero will be released by AVS Presents in 2025. A dedicated advocate for new music, she has premiered and commissioned works by composers such as Libby Larsen, Karim Al-Zand, and Thom Ritter George. She is a member of the ISU Faculty String Quartet, which performs regularly on the RedNote New Music Series and throughout the region. For fifteen years, Dr. Lewis served as principal viola of the Peoria Symphony where she appeared as soloist on several occasions performing Concertos by Nystroem, Bruch, and Bach with the orchestra. She is the founder and director of Redbird Musical Adventures, a concert series for children and families and regularly produces and performs new educational outreach concerts in the Bloomington-Normal community.
Dr. Lewis is deeply involved in the viola and string pedagogy communities at both local and national levels. She served for over a decade on the Illinois chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) board, including a term as president, during which the chapter received multiple awards. She was also honored with ASTA’s State Chapter Leadership Award. Additionally, she has served on the American Viola Society (AVS) Executive Board and was chair of the Education Committee, expanding educational programming and media offerings.
Her current research explores the use of Extended Reality (XR) to enhance, understand, and teach bow-arm pedagogy. Funded by multiple grants, this work led to the development of the ViolaXR app on the Apple Vision Pro. She is currently conducting a Phase 1 research study on XR applications in string education and has been invited to present her findings at AVS and ASTA conferences.
Dr. Lewis has received numerous accolades for her contributions to teaching, research, and service, including the ISU College of Fine Arts Outstanding Teaching Award, Outstanding Researcher, Outstanding Service, and Research Initiative Awards, and the ISU University and College Service Initiative Awards. She has presented recitals, master classes, and lectures at institutions and conferences across the U.S. and Brazil. She is also the co-creator of the Viola Ensemble Database, hosted the website for the American Viola Society.
Her students hold teaching and performance positions nationwide, with many earning top placements in competitions such as the ISU Concerto Competition, IL ASTA Solo Comptition, and the National AVS Solo Competition. Members of the ISU Viola Studio have been accepted into prestigious graduate programs and summer festivals, and her pre-college students regularly have top chair placements in the ILMEA Honors Orchestra.
Dr. Lewis holds degrees from Rice University (DMA), The Cleveland Institute of Music (MM), and Lawrence University (BM), studying under Jeffrey Irvine, Karen Ritscher, James Dunham, and Matthew Michelic.
Current Courses
236.001Applied Music (Advanced Viola)
136.001Applied Music (Viola)
436.001Applied Music (Viola)
239.005Ensemble: Chamber Music
439.005Ensemble: Chamber Music
475.001Final Project in String Pedagogy
287.005Independent Study
400.003Independent Study
498.001Professional Practice in String Pedagogy
Teaching Interests & Areas
Applied viola, viola ensemble, string pedagogy, beginning strings, middle school orchestra, string chamber music, The Suzuki Method.
Research Interests & Areas
Extended Reality, children's concert programming, solo and chamber music performance, Baroque performance practice, new music, string pedagogy, viola literature.