Meet Cathy Peterson of EarWarp in Metro Denver

Today we’d like to introduce you to Cathy Peterson.

Cathy, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
My journey as a classical musician started in Sunnyvale, California and brought me to Denver to play with the Colorado Symphony in January 1998 and to EarWarp a few years later. I was a lucky child and had supportive parents that drove me around the Bay Area Peninsula, in tons of traffic, for my lessons. I had amazing teachers and mentors when I was young and played in the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. My time with SFSYO was the best training I could have hoped for to prepare me to be a professional flutist, as it held me to a high standard, and provided opportunities to perform in fabulous European Concert Halls.

Like a lot of kids who grew up in Silicon Valley, I worked at the computer companies every vacation and summer break, but ultimately studied Flute Performance at Northwestern University, received a Bachelor of Music degree from San Francisco Conservatory of Music, and a Master of Music Degree from the University of Michigan.

Over the years I have tried to improve the craft of teaching students of all ages, and I enjoy playing Chamber Music with my husband, Erik Peterson, a former violinist with the symphony, and violist, Phillip Stevens. Our trio, the Ivy Street Ensemble, plays concerts throughout the year here in Colorado and in the summers in Oregon. EarWarp is our small business that encompasses Ivy Street Ensemble concerts, private teaching studios, the Mile High Flute Benders, and the Mile High Flute Camp.

I love playing my flute in the orchestra, but I am particularly passionate about teaching. When I arrived in Denver, I began coaching the flutes at the Denver School of the Arts, and I am privileged to have coached the flutes there for over 20 years. Although I first started teaching to help pay the bills, I realized that teaching allows conversations to stay open with a different generation not only about music but life in general. Kids demand honesty and they have taught me a lot over the years.

Once, I had a student that hit her teenage years and started to talk in her lessons more than playing her flute. After a bit of this, I told the parents that while she was a lovely person, they were wasting their money on lessons because I couldn’t get her to stop talking and just play her flute. They told me they were happy to have her talk to me and wanted to keep “flute” lessons going! I should have gotten another degree in psychotherapy because it would really be useful in my daily life.

Tunes for TaTas is an annual concert I try to hold every year to raise money for local Breast Cancer organizations and I am grateful for my musician friends that donate their time and talents to support the cause of Breast Cancer awareness. While we missed this year, 2020, we will return next fall, even if the concert is online!

During COVID-19 Stay at Home orders, Erik and I starting playing mini-concerts for our neighbors from the front porch. The friends were very supportive of the concerts, so we decided to live-stream a mini-concert every Saturday evening while partnering with various non-profit organizations. We had our kids join in to round out the ensemble, and tried to raise awareness and funds for Urban Peak, Elevating Connections, MetroCaring and the Growhaus. I don’t know if we made an impact at all, but it felt good to at least try to do something while we couldn’t leave home.

EarWarp will continue to share classical music for anyone that wants to have a break from daily life and find something inspirational to listen to or partake in.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I would say it’s been a little bit bumpy on this road. However, I feel very lucky for what I have right now. Orchestra auditions are tough and can be demoralizing. It’s hard to spend $1,000 to take an audition, only to play for about three minutes, and then be dismissed. I’m so lucky to have an orchestra job here in Denver, and EarWarp provides so many opportunities to share music with others. I am a breast cancer survivor, and the treatments left me with a damaged nerve in my arm. It was a long time of playing my flute in constant pain, but I am lucky that I have amazing physical therapy at Oncoloy Rehab, and am doing great now! The road is smoothing out for the future!

EarWarp – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
EarWarp is a small business that encompasses Ivy Street Ensemble concerts, private teaching studios, the Mile High Flute Benders, and the Mile High Flute Camp. We specialize in Violin Lessons, Flute Lessons and Chamber Music. We are known for high-quality classical music concerts, exceptional teaching in violin and flute, and personalized attention. I am proud that we focus on the needs of each individual student and can also provide instruction for students that don’t always have access to private music lessons.

I think what sets us apart as performers is our diverse programming. In addition to providing the highest quality classical chamber music, we also include a woman composer on almost every program we perform. We introduce contemporary music to the audience while mixing it with well-loved and well-known pieces.

As teachers, I think one thing that sets us apart from other instructors is that since we have kids ourselves, we really know how to talk to younger students and connect with them. We have three boys, and sometimes I think that teaching boys is a unique skill. As parents, we understand the families that are juggling soccer, school, swimming and still want music lessons for their kid. It’s all a balancing act, and we can empathize with our student’s parents while still demanding high performance from the students.

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Supporters: My parents, first and foremost!

Mentors: Tim Day, Principal Flute of San Francisco Symphony. Tim was the flute instructor at San Francisco Conservatory and taught me to have confidence about playing the flute, and not to overthink it too much. He would say to me, Cathy, just pick it up and play the damn thing.

Jeff Zook, Piccolo player of Detroit Symphony. Jeff pulled me up from the doldrums after my Master’s Degree. I wanted to quit the flute, and he showed me such compassion and inspiration that I worked hard to try to be like him, both in daily life and in my flute playing. I try to channel Jeff when I’m teaching and share his ideas with flutists here in Denver!

Finally: The STUDENTS and their parents and our audience members. The success of EarWarp is very dependent on recommendations from our students for future students. Our students also give us inspiration for our chamber music concerts and we appreciate their support when they come to hear us perform! We appreciate our dedicated patrons that come to the concerts and encourage us to share our music with anyone who wants to listen!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.earwarp.com; www.milehighflutist.com
• Email: info@earwarp.com
• Facebook: @EarWarp

Image Credit:
Willie Petersen

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