Katie Rife is an active educator and performer of symphonic and new music. She teaches lessons in all aspects of concert and orchestral percussion, including marimba and timpani.
Katie performs regularly with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and is also the Principal Percussionist of the Okanagan Symphony Orchestra. Additional performance credits include numerous shows with Music on Main, Vancouver New Music, the Canadian Music Centre, Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra, Vancouver Opera, Allegra Chamber Orchestra, Vancouver Bach Choir, Elektra, and Chor Leoni. She has been fortunate to go on international tours with both the VSO and Elektra.
She holds a Masters of Music and Professional Studies Diploma from the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where she studied with longtime San Francisco Symphony Principal Percussionist Jack Van Geem, and a Bachelors of Music in Percussion Performance from the University of British Columbia, where she studied with Sal Ferreras and Vern Griffiths. Further studies included multiple artist residencies at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, and summer festivals in Canada, the US, and Europe.
Her musical journey began on piano and included some time on flute before discovering the fascinating world of percussion instruments.
Katie has been on faculty at VAM since 2015. She has helped students learn and grow as percussionists, and successfully prepare for auditions, competitions, exams, and more, all while fostering a lifelong appreciation of music and encouraging musicality, expression, and technique.
In addition to her work at VAM, Katie teaches at the Sarah McLachlan School of Music and the Langley Community Music School. She also enjoys working with ensembles and has coached percussion sections in schools throughout the Lower Mainland.