Dr. Kathryn Eames enjoys an active performing career as a soloist, collaborator, and orchestral pianist. She won the position of Principal Piano of the Fresno Philharmonic in 2022, and has also performed with the Oakland Symphony, the Modesto Symphony, The Sacramento Philharmonic and the Music in the Mountains Summer Festival Orchestra. She is a member of the chamber group Helix Collective, a Los Angeles-based ensemble specializing in multi-media collaborative performance and recording. The group often commissions new works, and in 2018 recorded their album L.A. Stories, with works by local composers involving music and spoken word. Helix Collective is also active in the performance of film and video game music, and every year serves as the house band for the Los Angeles Live Score Film Festival. The ensemble has collaborated with groups such as the Composers Diversity Collective in promoting and performing the works of BIPOC and women composers.

Dr. Eames earned her DMA at the University of Southern California, where she studied piano with Bernadene Blaha and harpsichord with Dr. Lucinda Carver. She also completed her Masters degree at USC, and was named Outstanding Graduate of the Thornton School of Music. She served as a Graduate Teaching Assistant during her years there. In her undergrad, also at USC, Dr. Eames completed a minor in Linguistics and was named a USC Renaissance Scholar and inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa honors society.

Dr. Eames has participated and performed in music festivals both in the United States and internationally, including the Prague International Piano Masterclass, the Summer Institute for Contemporary Performance Practice, the Seattle Piano Institute, the Pierre Monteux School for Conductors and Orchestra Musicians, and the Academie de Fourviere in Lyon. She has performed in masterclass with artists such as Ian Hobson, Jean-Philippe Collard, Jon Kimura Parker, and Christopher O’Riley. Her recordings have been featured on KUSC 91.5’s Thornton Center Stage.

Dr. Eames joined the PCM faculty in 2014, where she teaches piano and music theory. She maintains a highly sought-after piano studio and her students have won prizes in various competitions. She also taught music theory for several years at the California School for the Arts