“…physically expressive, ferocious, and particularly thrilling…”

— La Scena Musicale

Praised for her “passion in every note” (Artburst Miami) and her “expressive, ferocious, and thrilling” performances (La Scena Musicale), Katherine Fortunato is a percussionist based in New York City who has made a name for herself as a lively and energetic performer unafraid of unorthodox collaborations. 

Since moving to New York in 2022, Katherine has enjoyed a varied career as a freelancer and has performed and collaborated with Sandbox Percussion, Linda May Han Oh, Heartbeat Opera, Metropolis Ensemble, Mark DeChiazza, and Robert Sirota. Katherine has taken the stage at the Thalia Theater at Symphony Space, The Maverick, The Stone, The Irondale Center, The Dimenna Center, and other notable venues woven into the fabric of New York. In August of 2023, Katherine performed the North American premiere of Linda May Han Oh’s “Ephemeral Echoes”  at The Stone in Manhattan. The following spring, Katherine was the percussionist on the world premiere of Heartbeat Opera’s “THE EXTINCTIONIST”, a chamber opera by Daniel Schlosberg and librettist Amanda Quade that featured over 35 percussion instruments.

Katherine was the winner of the George and Elizabeth Gregory Concerto Competition and she performed Kevin Puts’ Marimba Concerto with the Mannes Orchestra in October of 2023. The following spring, Katherine performed Marimba Concerto with the Doctor’s Orchestral Society of New York. She kicked off 2025 with a performance of Christopher Cerrone’s “In a Grove” at PROTOTYPE Festival with Metropolis Ensemble, which later made the New York Time’s Best Classical Performances of 2025 list. She was also a featured percussionist in Heartbeat Opera’s arrangement of Salome, which was featured on The New York Time’s Best Classical Music of 2025, So Far. 

Katherine received her bachelor’s degree from the Frost School of Music and her master’s degree on a full-tuition scholarship from The New School to study with Ian Rosenbaum. Katherine’s mentors have included Svet Stoyanov, Matthew Strauss, Sandbox Percussion, and Christopher Cerrone. Katherine is a teaching artist with the Little Orchestra Society, an administrator for Sandbox Percussion, Digital Engagement and Production Associate for Metropolis Ensemble, and Percussion Coordinator at The New School.