GDYO taught me that if you have the tools and support you need, anything is possible!
Catalina Simmonds is a music educator in the Tulsa, Oklahoma area where she works with beginner orchestra students. For the past 16 years, her career has led her to teach middle school orchestra in Frisco, Texas as well as East Central University in Ada, Oklahoma, where she was the pedagogy professor for a year, and in Broken Arrow before joining the Union Orchestra program as the 6th grade director in 2017. Since then, she has started hundreds of orchestra students on violin, viola, cello and bass and is now ending her 6th year there. Before becoming a teacher, Catalina studied at Southern Methodist University where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Viola Performance and a Master’s degree in Music Education. Her time in the Dallas Symphony’s Young Strings program inspired her to become a teacher and she now has students who have graduated and become orchestra directors themselves. Over the past few years, Catalina has been able to continue her passion of playing symphonic music as a substitute in the viola section of the Tulsa Symphony, the Tulsa Opera, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, and the Candlelight Tulsa series. In her spare time she likes to cheer on her husband’s football team, the Owasso Rams, and her twins who play baseball, basketball, and football as well! Catalina also serves as a Vice President to her children’s PTA as well as the Young Strings Alumni Advisory Committee, and the Bob Dylan Center’s Education Committee.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE GDYO EXPERIENCE OR MEMORY?
My favorite memory was playing Mahler 1 my very first season/concert as a sophomore in the fall of 2000. It was such a challenging piece, yet so rewarding to play. It remains my favorite symphony to date, and will always be the piece that made me fall in love with symphonic repertoire. It was especially fun having the brass behind me as I was in the back of the viola section!
DO YOU FEEL THAT GDYO HAD AN IMPACT ON YOUR LIFE?
Absolutely. It made me fully aware that there was a community of young players who wanted to push themselves to the highest level of performance in an encouraging and supportive environment. From the repertoire that we got to perform to Mr. Giangiulio as our director, we had every opportunity to create wonderful music every Sunday. It taught me that if you have the support and tools that you need, anything is possible!
TELL US WHAT YOU’VE BEEN UP TO SINCE GRADUATING FROM GDYO.
Since I graduated, I received my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from SMU and have been teaching for 15 years. I taught in Dallas and Frisco for many years before moving to Oklahoma where I work with 180 beginning orchestra students at Union Public Schools in Tulsa. I have also been married to my football coaching husband Zac for almost 14 years, and trying to keep up with my growing 9 year old twins Ford and Sloane.
WHAT LIFE ACHIEVEMENTS ARE YOU MOST PROUD OF SO FAR AND WHY?
Some of my most proud achievements is completing my bachelors degree in Viola Performance and Music Education from SMU, a very rewarding yet challenging process. I am also very proud to say I have some students who have now become orchestra directors themselves and some who are pursuing music as a career! It is so important to me that my students realize the impact that classical music can have on education and communities. Dallas planted so many seeds years ago that are showing so much fruition now, I am working very hard to plant those seeds in Tulsa so that we can follow Dallas’ model.
TELL US ABOUT SOME OF YOUR PERSONAL AND/OR PROFESSIONAL GOALS FOR THE FUTURE.
I would love to be able to promote and expand music education at a local and national level. Whether it be through the classroom or at a political level, it is very important for me to share the values of a music education for a child. Be it for the future of our country, each child should get the opportunity to play music because of the impact music can have on the world.
WHO OR WHAT INSPIRES YOU?
My biggest inspiration are my family, my students, my mentors, and of course my colleagues that demonstrate day in and day out that music is important in a child’s life. We all believe that the lessons you learn through music can help you be the best version of yourself that you can be.
ANY HOBBIES, FUN FACTS OR LIFE HIGHLIGHTS OUTSIDE YOUR CAREER YOU’D LIKE TO SHARE?
I am so lucky that I get to play as a freelance musician in the viola section of the Tulsa Symphony, the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, and in Candlelight Tulsa. We play music by candlelight and use music arrangements of bands like Queen and Coldplay, which is not only fun, but a new way to showcase live music for a new audiences. I also love fashion, football, and fitness!
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO CURRENT GDYO STUDENTS?
Explore, explore, explore! There are so many options for musicians now a days that were not in place 20 years ago. If you love music, you can make it as a professional, and there are no limits to your success. Attend concerts, get to know your communities, and be brave! There is so much fear of the unknown and yet taking risks that follow your heart can pay off exponentially if you go for it!
THANK YOU CATALINA FOR STEPPING INTO GDYO’S ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT!
IF YOU OR SOMEONE YOU KNOW WOULD BE INTERESTED IN SHARING THE ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT OR WOULD LIKE MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE GDYO ALUMNI ASSOCIATION,
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