Lecturer

Katherine Hunka enjoys a diverse and colourful career as a violinist, chamber musician, composer and mentor. For twenty-six years Katherine led and directed the Irish Chamber Orchestra.She directed tours worldwide and in 2020 released a solo album with the ICO of Piazzolla and Schubert that received glowing reviews. She was recently made “Leader Emeritus” in recognition of her contribution to the ensemble.

Katherine is busy as soloist and chamber musician. She champions new music and has toured this year with the Manchester Collective in the UK and Scandinavia. Katherine is currently dedicating much time to composing. In 2025 she received a bursary from the Irish Arts Council to allow her time to explore composition further. In June she was invited to the Whittington Festival in the UK where she performed as soloist in her own composition premiere “Break Out”, in which she performed on violin and viola, and the Irish Chamber Orchestra performed her composition “Beyond” on their June tour. In 2027 she has several commissions for new works in the UK and Ireland.

Her group the Far Flung Trio presents wildly eclectic programmes that delight audiences. Their new album “Umbrellas” was released in August on the Orchid Classics label. The Solas Quartet, of which she is a founding member, enjoy unorthodox programming and champion female composers.They have performed several of Katherine’s own works on tour. Mentoring young musicians is an important part of Katherine’s musical life. She regularly directs groups of young musicians at MTU and the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland. As well as being a lecturer at MTU Cork School of Music she has been a guest lecturer at Indiana University and is Artistic Director of ConCorda chamber music course.