Kathryn first took up the Northumbrian smallpipes at the age of nine, inspired by her family and by the music of an older generation of traditional musicians such as Willie Taylor, Will Atkinson, Joe Hutton, Richard Moscrop, Billy Pigg and Tom Hunter.
She is now the foremost exponent of the Northumbrian pipes, a composer, performer, broadcaster, educator and successful recording artist whose work is deeply rooted in the landscape and people of Northumbria leading the Dialy Telegraph to describe her as "...the best living advertisement for English folk music."
Kathryn works collaboratively across many genres and in various different forms making her work contemporary and exciting. Kathryn was awarded the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List, 2015. The OBE recognises her extraordinary career which includes a seminal role in developing performers of all ages and performance of all sorts with roots in her Northumberland.
Her many trophies include "Musician of the Year" in the 2013 BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Her album "Northumbrian Voices" won "Best Traditional Album" in the Spiral Earth Awards, voted for by the public.
“To say that Kathryn plays pipes is like saying that Shakespeare was a bit of a writer… one of the true stars of our music.” Living Tradition