Praised by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a “spectacular” and “graceful” musician, Katy Ambrose has made a name for herself as an educator, chamber and orchestral performer. She is on faculty at the University of Iowa, where she is Visiting Assistant Professor in the School of Music. She was previously on faculty at the University of Virginia, where she also served as Principal Horn of the Charlottesville Symphony Orchestra, holding the ensemble’s Johanna and Derwood Chase & Chase Investment Counsel Corporation Chair.

Katy’s extensive orchestral experience includes positions in the Delaware Symphony Orchestra and the New Orchestra of Washington (current), Northeast Pennsylvania Philharmonic, Philly Pops!, Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, Albany Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic (KY), as well as substitute appearances with numerous orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Opera Company of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ballet, Hawai’i Opera Theater, Chamber Music Honolulu, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Harrisburg Symphony, Vermont Symphony and the New Haven Symphony. In the realm of Historically Informed Performance Practice, Katy has performed on Baroque horn with the Washington Baroque Consort, and on Classical horn at the Staunton Music Festival.

As a soloist and chamber musician she has commissioned and performed world premieres of pieces by Rene Orth, Sarah DuBois, Rachel Devorah Wood Trapp, Lucy Pankhurst, Katherine McMichael, Scott Boerma, and James Territo. She commissioned and performed the world premiere of Boerma’s “Isle of Skye” at the 2012 Edinburgh Easter Festival. Outside of the classical setting, Ambrose has played for Adele, Cee Lo Green, Andrea Bocelli, and as a recording artist for NFL Studios.

Katy was the founding Operations Coordinator for the Boulanger Initiative, a not-for-profit organization based in Washington, DC that promotes music by women through performance, education, and commissions. Katy was a co-founder of Seraph Brass, and is a founding member of Izula Horns, a quartet of horn players from the Washington, DC area who are dedicated to blending high quality performance with immersive community engagement. She is also a member of Conica, a transcontinental natural horn quartet.

Katy is especially interested in mentoring younger musicians and has taught for and developed programs and curricula for several education programs including the Philadelphia Orchestra School Partnership Program, Delaware Symphony school program and the “El-Sistema” inspired programs Tune-Up, Philly and Play On, Philly!

Katy earned a Doctor of Musical Arts at Temple University, an Artist Diploma from Yale University, a Master’s degree from the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan. She was the recipient of the prestigious William D. Revelli Award at University of Michigan and the Henry and Lucy Moses Fellowship at Yale.