Kate McWilliams enjoys researching and recreating underappreciated medieval
instruments. She began building instruments while in college, and now
builds them professionally. She has exhibited her instruments at the
Boston Early Music Festival, the Berkeley Early Music Festival, and the Madison
Early Music Festival. While largely self-taught, she has spent two years studying with luthier Daniel Larson.
Her current research interest is the British Museum Citole (formerly known as a gittern), one of the sole surviving instruments from the fourteenth century. This study reveals valuable insights into the practices of medieval stringed instrument makers. She has built a replica of this remarkable instrument, though with only a sampling of the intricate carvings.
She holds a BM in Music Education and an MM in Violin Performance, with a concentration in Early Music, from the University of Delaware, and an MA in Musicology from the University of Minnesota. She teaches violin and viola performance in private lessons (both modern and historical technique), and frequently gives lectures in schools about different aspects of music in society. Her most influential teachers have been John Madura, Nicholas Mann, Russell Murray, and David Douglass.
email me at kateatsigntrombamarina.com (replace atsign with @)