Katherine Fortunato

Praised for her “passion in every note” (Artburst Miami) and her “expressive, ferocious, and thrilling” performances (La Scena Musicale), Katherine Fortunato is a percussionist based in New York City who has made a name for herself as a lively and energetic performer unafraid of unorthodox collaborations.

This season, Katherine will join Sandbox Percussion and Trinity Church’s award-winning new music ensemble, NOVUS, for two performances of Steve Reich’s Tehillim. She will perform the New York premiere of Philippe Manoury’s new work for percussion duo, Argumenta, with Kosuke Matsuda on their debut concert for their duo, format percussion. This season will also feature collaborations with pianist Piotr Kozłowski, Concurrent Duo, a solo recital at Metropolis Ensemble’s Rivington gallery, a solo tour in Miami, and a performance of Thomas Duffy’s marimba concerto Three Places in New Haven with the Cornell University Wind Symphony.

Katherine enjoys a varied career as a freelancer and has performed and collaborated with Sandbox Percussion, Linda May Han Oh, Heartbeat Opera, Metropolis Ensemble, Mark DeChiazza, and Robert Sirota. Katherine has taken the stage at the Thalia Theater at Symphony Space, The Maverick, The Stone, The Irondale Center, The Dimenna Center, and other notable venues woven into the fabric of New York. In August of 2023, Katherine performed the North American premiere of Linda May Han Oh’s “Ephemeral Echoes” at The Stone in Manhattan. She made her debut in the New York opera scene as the percussionist on the world premiere of Noah K’s opera, Salvation, directed by Mark DeChiazza. Following this production, Katherine was the percussionist on the world premiere of Heartbeat Opera’s “THE EXTINCTIONIST”, a chamber opera by Daniel Schlosberg and librettist Amanda Quade that featured over 30 percussion instruments.

Katherine was the winner of the George and Elizabeth Gregory Concerto Competition and she performed Kevin Puts’ Marimba Concerto with the Mannes Orchestra in October of 2023. The following spring, Katherine performed Marimba Concerto with the Doctor’s Orchestral Society of New York. She kicked off 2025 with a performance of Christopher Cerrone’s In a Grove at PROTOTYPE Festival with Metropolis Ensemble, which later made the New York Time’s Best Classical Performances of 2025 list. She was also a featured percussionist in Heartbeat Opera’s arrangement of Salome, which was featured on The New York Time’s Best Classical Music of 2025, So Far.

Katherine received her bachelor’s degree from the Frost School of Music and her master’s degree from The New School. Katherine’s mentors have included Svet Stoyanov, Matthew Strauss, Sandbox Percussion, and Christopher Cerrone. Katherine is a teaching artist with the Little Orchestra Society, an artistic administrator for Sandbox Percussion, Digital Engagement and Production Associate for Metropolis Ensemble. She was the Percussion Coordinator at The New School from 2022 to 2026.