Harp
Department Recital
Strings
Departments
Courses
Applied Lessons, Harp Class
Education
The Juilliard School, MM
The Juilliard School, BM
Ensembles
San Francisco Symphony (2023-present)
Minnesota Orchestra (2022-2023)
Kansas City Symphony (2019-2022)
Sarasota Orchestra (2017-2019)
Awards & Distinctions
Gold Medalist of 10th USA International Harp Competition (2016)
Concert Artist for American Harp Society (2015-2017)
First Prize, American Harp Society Young Professional Division (2015)
First Prize, American Harp Society Advanced Division (2013)
Q&A
What is your hometown?
Iowa City, IA
What is your daily practice routine?
My routine varies from day-to-day depending on my schedule, but I try to fill as much of my free time as I can with practicing. This includes preparing upcoming orchestra rep, solo rep, and learning any new pieces that my students are working on. I also spend quite a bit of time studying orchestra scores and doing mental practice. Of course all of this is accompanied by a good cup of coffee!
Who were your major teachers?
Pamela Weest-Carrasco and Nancy Allen.
What is a favorite quote that you tell students?
15 minutes of focused practicing is more valuable than hours of mindless practicing.
What was a turning point in your career?
The week before I graduated with my master’s degree, I won the Principal Harp audition for the Sarasota Orchestra. I’m so grateful for this first job that jumpstarted my orchestral career right out of college.
What do you think makes a concert experience unique?
One of the most beautiful things about live music is the spontaneity and flexibility that occurs on stage. Every single performance, even of the same music, is filled with subtle differences created together through the synergy of multiple different players. There is magic in the singularity of that concert experience that can never exactly be replicated again.
What are your most exciting collaborations?
Working with our former music director, Esa-Pekka Salonen, throughout my first two seasons with SFS was life-changing. I had the incredible opportunity to perform Debussy’s Danses as a soloist with Esa-Pekka conducting.
I am also very lucky to collaborate with my talented fiancé, Jacob Nissly (Percussion Chair at SFCM, Principal Percussion of SFS) with whom I am premiering new harp/percussion duo works!
What recordings can we hear you on?
-On Apple Music Classical, San Francisco Symphony & Esa-Pekka Salonen on Stravinsky’s Symphony in Three Movements and Sibelius’s Symphony No. 1
-Minnesota Orchestra & Osmo Vänskä on Mahler’s Symphony No. 3
-My solo album Nocturne, which includes several of my original piano transcriptions
Biography
Praised by The New York Times as “excellent,” Katherine Siochi is an internationally award-winning soloist and one of the leading orchestral harpists of her generation. She joined the San Francisco Symphony as Principal Harp in the 2023-24 season, appointed by Esa-Pekka Salonen. She joined SFCM’s harp faculty in 2025.
Having won an impressive number of auditions, Katherine previously held positions as Principal Harp of the Minnesota Orchestra, Kansas City Symphony, and Sarasota Orchestra. Katherine is the Gold Medalist of the 10th USA International Harp Competition, one of the world's most prestigious harp contests. Audiences worldwide have commended Katherine for her virtuosity as well as her poetic interpretations and innate sense of timing.
In addition to her position at SFCM, Katherine is on the faculty at Aspen Music Festival and School and is the harp coach for the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. She is frequently sought-after by both professionals and students as an orchestral audition coach.
As an orchestral musician, Katherine has also appeared as guest Principal Harp with Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Katherine has performed as a concerto soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Sarasota Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic, and The Juilliard Orchestra. Summer festival appearances include Classical Tahoe, Colorado Music Festival, Tanglewood Music Center, and Aspen Music Festival.
Katherine has received first prize in numerous competitions, including the American String Teachers Association, Anne Adams Awards, and both the Advanced Division and Young Professional Division of the American Harp Society National Competition. While holding the position of American Harp Society Concert Artist from 2015-2017, Katherine embarked on a tour of 23 U.S. cities to present solo recitals and masterclasses. Appearances have also included solo concerts in Hong Kong, China, Israel, and at Lyon & Healy Hall in Chicago. In 2021 she released her debut solo album Nocturne on Lyon & Healy Records, in which she “displays an intuitive sense of musical line and phrase that takes the harp beyond its limits and more toward the world of piano and a wider realm of artistry and expression” (Harp Column Magazine).
Katherine holds her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in harp performance from The Juilliard School, where she studied with New York Philharmonic Principal Harp Nancy Allen. While earning her master's, Katherine was a recipient of the distinguished Kovner Fellowship. Aside from the harp, Katherine studied secondary piano at Juilliard during her undergraduate years. Her background as a pianist contributes to her interest in transcribing piano works for the harp, as well as her unique approach to facility and voicing on the harp. Katherine’s transcriptions of Debussy and Chopin are available for purchase through Lyon & Healy Publications. Katherine grew up in Iowa City, Iowa, where she studied with Pamela Weest-Carrasco.