Kathleen Carter Bell

Dr. Kathleen Carter Bell, Tennessee State University's Instructor of Oboe and English Horn, is a passionate performer of solo, chamber, and orchestral repertoire. Prior to relocating to the Nashville area, Kathleen served as Oboe Lecturer at Auburn University for three years, and is the oboe faculty member for Indiana University’s Summer Music Clinic. Kathleen, who has given recitals, masterclasses and presentations across the country, spent summer 2022 at the Interlochen Center for the Arts as the Oboe Teaching Fellow, and was chosen to represent Indiana University at Seoul National University’s 2019 Chamber Music Festival. 

 

As a teacher, Kathleen equips students to become vibrant musicians through a methodical and personalized approach to her oboe studio’s curriculum. She is oboe clinician for the Double Talk Workshop, an initiative for music educators which emphasizes the “how-to’s” of teaching double reed fundamentals, strives to give ensemble directors hands-on time playing the oboe and bassoon, and discusses important double reed resources necessary for student success. Students in her private studio have consistently attended All-State and have been accepted to top music schools across the country. 

 

Dr. Bell’s trio, Elicio Winds (flute, oboe, bassoon), has been awarded several grants, including: an Alabama State Council on the Arts grant to commission five woodwind trio pieces (several of which were performed at the 2021 CMS National Conference in Rochester, NY); a second Alabama State Council on the Arts grant funding an upcoming commercial CD of the commissioned works; and a SEC Travel Grant to present a chamber recital and masterclass at the University of Arkansas. Kathleen’s passion for new music is also evidenced by recent collaborations with female composers, including Althea Talbot-Howard, Alyssa Morris, and Meera Gudipati. She has been awarded grants through the International Double Reed Society and the Draughon Center for the Arts and Humanities to commission and perform new oboe works which have been performed at the International Double Reed Society Conference (Boulder) and the National Flute Association Conference (Chicago). 

 

Dr. Bell is fascinated by music’s place within the broader context of art and culture. Her current research interests include how the ancient Greek aulos influenced Wagner’s use of the oboe in his operas. Kathleen earned her DM, MM, and PD degrees from Indiana University, her BM from Baldwin Wallace Conservatory, and was one of six graduate recipients of the 2012 Barbara and David H. Jacobs Fellowship, awarded for “excellence and leadership in the world of music.”

 

When not playing the oboe, Kathleen enjoys spending time with her husband, bassoonist Conor Bell, as well as traveling, reading, and painting.