Biography

Kate Conklin is a classically trained soprano and a leading interpreter of the highly demanding vocal music of Bulgaria. After a two-year tenure with Cirque du Soleil, Kate returned to LA in 2006 where she now works extensively in film and new works as a vocalist and collaborator with composers and choreographers. Kate currently teaches voice and Alexander Technique and directs Bulgarian Vocal Ensembles.

Kate is a certified teacher of The Alexander Technique, a method of psycho-physical re-education which emphasizes a sense of ease and lightness, self-reliance and injury prevention. Kate works with individuals and performers of all kinds to release unnecessary tension and achieve technical and artistic excellence. Kate is particularly known for her work integrating Alexander Technique, vocal technique, neurobiology and functional anatomy with practical performance application.

Kate collaborates frequently in performance with banjoist Bryan Landers, guitarist Miroslav Tadic´, pianist/composer Milen Kirov, percussionist Bryon Holley and choreographer/multi-media performer Sahar Javedani. From 2004-2006 Kate was a vocalist in "O", the Cirque du Soleil resident aquatic show at Bellagio, Las Vegas. Kate performed with "O" for two years, approximately nine hundred shows.

Kate has been awarded The Fulbright Scholarship to Bulgaria and the LifeWorks Foundation Research Grant for Early American Folk Music in Nashville. In Bulgaria Kate rehearsed and performed as a member of the The Academic Folk Choir of the Plovdiv Academy of Music, and developed her work in regional solo repertoire, choral literature, conducting and pedagogy. Kate holds BFA and MFA degrees in Vocal Performance from California Institute of the Arts. Her studies emphasized vocal technique, pedagogy and highly ornamented vocal styles, including North Indian and Balkan vocal music.

From 2006 to 2010 Kate was founder and director of the highly-acclaimed Bulgarian Vocal Ensembles at California Institute of the Arts, where she also taught voice. She has founded and directed Bulgarian Vocal Ensembles for California Institute of the Arts, Community Arts Partnership, California State Summer School for the Arts, and The Oakwood School. She has taught for eight years at the California State Summer School for the Arts where she teaches Alexander Technique, Vocal Technique and Bulgarian Vocal Ensemble.

Kate is currently in development with a new solo performance piece merging opera and science.