Catherine Doss began studying piano at age six. A graduate of Interlochen Arts Academy, she earned a bachelor’s degree cum laude and a master’s degree in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, studying with Richard Fields and Frank Weinstock. Her festival experience includes the Australian Chamber Music Festival, the Opera Theatre and Music Festival of Lucca, Italy, and Brevard Music Center, where she studied with Douglas Weeks. She later served as Music Director of the Pensacola Opera’s Artists in Residence program.

In 2009, Ms. Doss shifted her focus toward raising her family while continuing to perform, collaborate, and teach. After multiple military moves with the same piano, she also became acquainted with an impressive number of piano technicians across the country. Following her family’s final military move in 2021, she returned to more focused study in preparation for the 2022 Cliburn Amateur Festival. Ms. Doss participated in the 2024 PianoTexas International Festival & Academy and was a finalist in the 2024 Washington International Piano Artists Competition, where FestivalDC praised her “great emotional fervor and dynamism.” She enjoys sharing contemporary music and guiding other adults back to the piano. She currently lives in Manassas, Virginia, with her wonderful children and greatest supporters: Paul, Lucy, and Margot.

“One of my favorite memories is from a masterclass Yo-Yo Ma gave at Brevard Music Center, where he advised a cellist working on a Haydn concerto to play a passage ‘like a butterfly trying to land — with really sore feet.’ My favorite aspect of my musical journey is the people I’ve met along the way, and I’m looking forward to reconnecting with old friends, making new ones, and hearing everyone perform.”