OKC Philharmonic’s Kate Pritchett to be soloist for Classics season opener
As a youngster, Kate Pritchett tried out several musical instruments.
Fortunately, she had a junior high band director who knew how to turn her penchant for experimentation into an advantage.
"I started on piano when I was 5. I played string bass for quite a while. My first wind instrument was the flute, and I actually wasn't very good at it. So, I wanted to switch to trombone, but my mom at this point is not going to buy me an instrument," Pritchett recalled.
"So, we went over to the junior high and said, 'Do you have a trombone we could use?' The thing about the horn is it can be kind of a steep learning curve at the beginning, so it's best to get students who've got some musical background on it in the beginning. So, this was a smart band director, and he said, 'Well, no, I don't have a trombone, but let me give you a French horn.'"
Now the Oklahoma City Philharmonic's principal French horn player, Pritchett will be featured as soloist on the orchestra's Classics series opener Sept. 11 at the Civic Center Music Hall. She will perform Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Horn Concerto No. 2" at the Opening Night concert.
"Our opening gala starts the season off with a classically intimate program, ranging from Mozart's horn concerto to Beethoven's' 'Symphony No. 1,'" said OKC Philharmonic Music Director Alexander Mickelthwate in an email. "Set in the theater, audience members will experience a renaissance surround-sound experience featuring our own wonderfully talented principal horn."
COVID-19 protocols
The concert is launching the local 2021-22 performing arts season in the Civic Center, where masks continue to be required inside at all times, regardless of a person's vaccination status, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Beginning Sept. 11 and until further notice, the OKC Philharmonic is requiring patrons to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination with either a physical vaccination card, a picture of a vaccination card or a digital vaccination record, along with a photo ID.
For unvaccinated people ages 6 and older or those who prefer not to share their vaccination status, patrons can instead provide proof of a negative
PCR (polymerase chain reaction) COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours of entering the venue.
Outside its Civic Center season, the OKC Philharmonic will perform a free outdoor show Sept. 19 at Scissortail Park, where the orchestra will present works by Dmitri Shostakovich, Camille Saint-Saens, Antonin Dvorak and more.
'So versatile'
The first woman principal in the brass section for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Pritchett also is the principal horn with the Lawton Philharmonic, teaches horn as a music professor at Oklahoma City University and performs with Brightmusic Chamber Music Ensemble, Lyric Theatre and national tours of Broadway musicals.
She said it's the sound of the horn that keeps her passionate about playing it all these years.
"It has such a wide range," Pritchett said. "We're so versatile in our colors. We're able to be sweet and play stuff with the woodwind section. Then, of course, we can also lead the brass section in the loud and powerful stuff. ... That variety is really interesting to me — and the horn players who make the most of that are the most interesting to listen to."