From Forte Cardiff to The Juilliard School in New York - A musical journey!

Check out the amazing musical journey of ex Forte student Katie Jenkins and how her time at the school was so important and enabled her to become a student at the The Juillard School in New York. Check out her website and lovely video - "Burning Petals"  below and listen to her wonderful talent as a musician and composer!

Katie is an active recording artist and features regularly as vocalist on her own tracks. Katie’s music has been performed across Europe and the US, including performances at National Sawdust Brooklyn where she held a fellowship, The Juilliard School, The Curtis Institute of Music and The Wales Millennium Centre. Katie is a 2021, Artist in Residence with the Dordor Gallery, Brooklyn.

At the Juilliard School, Katie was the last student of renowned composer, Christopher Rouse. She now works with Matthias Pintscher,  conductor of the Ensemble Intercomporain, as well as Pulitzer prize winning composer Melinda Wagner.  She holds the Henry Mancini Fellowship as well as the  Gretchaninoff composition award . Katie is a teaching fellow at the Center for Innovation of the Arts at Juilliard where she coaches composition for Film, TV and Media.


"I was three when I started piano classes at Forte and four when I started violin. Not once did I ever grumble about going to music lessons, I was always waiting by the door, itching to go! I definitely enjoyed being part of a class, particularly when I was young, because it was very interactive and engaging for little minds! I was enthused by Forte’s ‘Munchkin Music’ books and the combination of singing, learning rhythms and theory. The variety was stimulating! In a class, there was less pressure on me as an individual and having fellow students learning the same pieces was inspiring! I think having a ‘learning partner’ made the early stages much easier and I was motivated to practise by learning alongside my Mum.

Forte has definitely contributed to my success as a musician. Regularly playing for my other class members got me used to performing and has helped me to control my performance nerves to this day! I learnt much more than how to play my instruments. I really learnt to listen and that is a skill that will never leave me! At school, I noticed how well I did at aural tests and theory compared to other students and I think that Forte gave me a solid foundation with this.

I will always remember the Forte festivals! They were such an enjoyable culmination of everyone’s hard work (I think I still have the medals somewhere!).

Since leaving Forte aged 11, my love of music continued to flourish. I joined the county orchestras, performed as a soloist and began to write my own music. Since 2018, I have been studying composition at The Juilliard School in New York. Forte really made me the confident improviser that I am today, which really aided my transition into composition. My time there encouraged me to think creatively and to enjoy creating music with others. I am currently collaborating with people from all across the globe on multimedia works, films and pieces for theatre and concert".

www.katiejenkinscomposer.com