About Kate

Born in Agana, Guam but a native of Northern Virginia, Kate Oliphant’s musical journey began at the age of three when she began insistently begging for a drum set.  Her mother decided to preserve the family's sanity with a compromise:  one year of piano lessons to earn a drum set.  This sparked a lifelong relationship with music for Kate.

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After learning to play piano and  drums, her guitar career started at the age of 12 when she began under the tutelage of Joseph Ikner.  Kate quickly fell in love with the instrument, continuing her studies through high school with Sam Wong and into college with Jason Pickard.   In 2014, Kate graduated with a double major in History and Music Performance from Gardner-Webb University where she was voted the Most Outstanding Female Graduate by her professors.  Kate graduated from East Carolina University in 2016 with her Masters in Music Performance with the esteemed Dr. Elliot Frank.  While at ECU, she was the Humanities Graduate Oral Winner of the Research and Creative Achievement Week.  
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Although she began teaching private music lessons in 2006, Kate officially began Happy Tails Music, LLC in 2022.  Since then, Kate has taught countless lessons for students of all ages in guitar, piano, electric bass, drums, ukulele and music theory.  She has also taught at various North Carolina community colleges and served as the Assistant Director for the ECU Summer Guitar Workshop.  Kate enjoys working with large guitar ensembles and has worked a guest conductor at the ECU Summer Guitar Festival, Queens University of Charlotte Guitar Symposium, and Loudoun County Public Schools.  In addition, she has adjudicated middle and high school guitar programs in Fairfax County and Loudoun County, Virginia. She was honored and humbled to see Happy Tails Music, LLC voted Platinum in the Best Music Lessons category of CommunityVotes Greenville 2024.

 

Currently, she resides in Greenville, North Carolina with her husband and three perfect dogs, Jolene, Ringo, and Karma.