Katie Ostrosky, PhD, NCTM, is currently Instructor of Piano and Music Theory at Randall University, where she teaches applied and class piano, aural skills, and written music theory. She received the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Piano Pedagogy from the University of Oklahoma in 2023, during which she taught class piano and aural skills as a graduate teaching assistant. While teaching at the University of Oklahoma, she was the recipient of the Provost’s Certificate of Distinction in Teaching for outstanding instruction. She has studied piano pedagogy with Dr. Barbara Fast and Dr. Jane Magrath, applied piano with Dr. Igor Lipinksi and Dr. Eva Mengelkoch, and Dalcroze Eurythmics and pedagogy with Dr. Jeremy Dittus and Monica Dale.

Dr. Ostrosky is an experienced pedagogue and has taught students of all ages and abilities. She has maintained a private piano studio in Baltimore, MD since 2003, with students active in performing at local, state, and national events such as recitals, masterclasses, and competitions. Additionally, she has engaged in adaptive pedagogies for students with disabilities to create an inclusive space for all types of learners. Using Dalcroze pedagogy, Dr. Ostrosky incorporates theories of embodied music cognition into music instruction, with the goal of holistic, experiential learning.

An active presenter and clinician, Dr. Ostrosky has presented research and workshops regionally, nationally, and internationally. Her current research interests include adaptive pedagogies for music students with disabilities, embodied music cognition, music for movement, speech and music connections, and the pedagogical works of Florence B. Price. She has presented these and other topics at numerous venues including the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) national conference, the National Conference for Keyboard Pedagogy (NCKP), the College Music Society (CMS) regional and international conferences, as well as the International Conference for Dalcroze Studies. She has been invited to present workshops and classes by the Norman Area Music Teachers Association, the University of California at Merced, Brown University, the University of Alabama, and was an invited panelist on the College Faculty Forum panel titled, “Finding Your Audience Outside of the Concert Hall,” for the 2023 Oklahoma Music Teachers Association state conference. Dr. Ostrosky won the 2021 NCKP pedagogy poster award for her research titled, Music, Poetry, and Sonic Meaning, and the Ruskin-Cooper Award for Best Student Paper for a paper titled The Pedagogical Works of Florence Price at the CMS Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference in 2022. She has been published in the MTNA E-Journal and The American Music Teacher.

As a performer, Dr. Ostrosky is passionate about creating innovative and original concert experiences with multi-disciplinary artists. Recent collaborations include Modernist Adventures in Music and Dance (2021), a staged collaboration of piano music written for dance performed at the University of Oklahoma as well as being a featured performance at the fifth International Conference for Dalcroze Studies. She composed and performed music for Tendrils (2022), a suite of tone-poems created for OU’s 2022 Young Choreographer Showcase in collaboration with choreographer, Mary Ann Mayer and fine artist, Sylvie Mayer. Dr. Ostrosky has frequently performed as a pianist for dancers, performing for the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, the University of Oklahoma, Maryland All-State Dance, and the Royal Academy of Dance. In addition to performances of classical and art music, Dr. Ostrosky has performed in vernacular and popular styles of music. She was a founding member of the Baltimore indie-synth-rock group, Karmella’s Game, performing over 200 concerts in 35 states, with three albums of original music released on Speedbump Recordings and Insubordination Records.

Dr. Ostrosky has been an active contributor to music teacher associations, and has served as the recording secretary for the Music Teachers Association of Greater Baltimore and the President of the collegiate chapter of the OUMTNA.