CATHERINE

GABEL

Pianist, violinist, & teacher located in Kansas City, MO

ABOUT

Catherine “Kaydee” Gabel is a musician from the Kansas City area. Kaydee earned her Bachelors of Music (BM) at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), and went on to study at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) until the pandemic hit in 2020. After taking a brief hiatus from performing after college, Kaydee has ventured into improvising at the piano in a classical style as well as composing music on piano with voice, but also plays acoustic or electric violin in various genres with local artists in KC. She enjoys playing classical, pop, rock, soul, & dabbles in jazz, blues, and country styles. She likes to add violin to genres that normally wouldn’t have violin and is curious to learn more about the world of improvisation.

She is grateful to have been given performance opportunities with the Opus 76 Quartet, Fountain City String Quartet, Kinnor Philharmonic Orchestra, KC Philip Glass Ensemble, Westwood Ensemble, and Quixotic Entertainment. Along with continuing to cultivate her love for performing, she currently runs her own private studio as well as regularly plays piano, violin, or sings for different churches in the area. See About for more.

studio session

Cover of “Always” on piano and violin

Gabel Music Studio

Kaydee started teaching her neighbor and gave some lessons to friends in high school. After moving home from college, she opened her studio in the fall of 2018. She is a member of the Kansas City Music Teachers Association (KCMTA) and the Music Teachers National Association (MTNA). She has had students receive superior ratings at Federation Festival and has had high school students receive the highest ratings at State and District competitions. She holds at least 2 recitals per year.

Kaydee found her love of teaching in the piano pedagogy program guided by Dr. Brenda Wristen at UNL. At UMKC, she studied music therapy with Dr. Amy Robertson and Dr. Dawn Iwamasa and decided to pursue a career in pedagogy and performance. However, her time at UMKC helped her see how healing music can be and hopes to pass that along to her students and those who might listen to her play. She has experience as a worship leader and music director and uses those skills in performance and teaching settings.

She attributes her passion in music to the sacrifices her parents made for her and to these childhood instructors: Anne Becker, Carmen Dieker, Coleen Dieker, Christy Dolan, Marvin Gruenbaum, Cathy Houghland, Lori Pinnell, and David Tauscher. While in college, she studied piano with Dr. Paul Barnes and violin with David Neely and Rebecca Fischer. She earned her degree in piano performance with a minor in psychology. She is a lifelong learner and has taken lessons from Karen Kushner, Keith Stanfield, and Shane Borth post-college.

Gabel Music Studio Winter Recital, December 2023 

PHILOSOPHY

Teaching Philosophy

  • Learning an instrument adds value to anyone’s life, whether young or old. It’s not something that needs to be forced. Enjoy the process as well as the outcome.

  • It takes a lot of patience, energy, time, and determination to learn an instrument. 

  • I believe that the principles of an instrument should be taught according to each student’s needs and level.

  • Making music is one of the most beautiful forms of art.

Music is an expression of yourself. Music makes connections, it’s heard because of you.

As a child, I dreamed of playing music for people. I’m so grateful for my classical education and upbringing in music. My favorite part of making music is connecting with others through this specific language on stage and bringing that energy to an audience to enjoy.

Let's create together

Let's create together