"Hello, my name is Catherine! I recently received my Bachelor's degree from Concordia College, Moorhead, in May of 2025. I majored in General Music and minored in German. During my time at Concordia, I spent four years as a member of the Concordia Orchestra in the violin section. I have been playing the violin for 12 years, and have taught beginner-level violin outside of school. At home in Alexandria, MN, I have taught violin one-on-one to beginners, such as K-12 students. Throughout my time as a music major at Concordia, I have taken music theory and history, and violin pedagogy courses. I also attended violin studio class, in which violin students would perform for our professor as well as our peers, and receive constructive feedback. I took violin lessons for three years with Dr. Sonja Bosca-Harasim and one year with Dr. Victor Avila-Luvsangenden. My experience as a music major at Concordia taught me how to practice my instrument efficiently, how to teach other violin learners, and most importantly, how music can break barriers and connect people of different backgrounds and cultures.

I began learning German my junior year of college, and it completely changed my life. In the summer of 2024, I attended the Deutsche Sommerschule am Pazifik, a German summer school in Portland, OR, for students with at least 2 years of college-level German or its equivalent. Although I only had two semesters of German at that point, I excelled at the Sommerschule, and left with the equivalent of about 3 years of German learning. During my senior year at Concordia, I was the President of the German Club, and would often tutor students of the beginner-level course during our weekly German Club meetings.

My future goal is to attend graduate school to study German while still making music on the side. My greatest source of fulfillment in life has been examining the connections between German and music, and I hope that I can teach both subjects in my future endeavors." less...