Katherine Wren is a violist, viola d’amore player and improviser who specialises in contemporary music and its relationship with traditional music. She studied at the University of Manchester and the Royal Northern College of Music.

Katherine is a member of the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and in September 2016 she formed Nordic Viola, a flexible ensemble performing and promoting music from the countries encircling the North Atlantic.

Katherine received a Special Commendation in the 2020 RPS/ABO Salomon Prize for her contribution to all aspects of orchestral life and her work with Nordic Viola, cited as “a fulfilling new experience for players that has forged lasting links with these communities.” The panel said, “the positive energy and passionate curiosity Katherine brings to the orchestra is inspirational and engaging to all who know and work with her.” She has also been shortlisted on multiple occasions for the Scottish New Music Awards.

Nordic Viola have formed strong relationships with musicians in the Faroe Islands (where they commissioned emerging composer Eli Tausen á Lava and undertook joint tours with Faroese ensemble Aldubáran to the Faroes and Orkney in 2023/24), Iceland (performing in the Summer Concert Series at the Bláakirkjan, Seyðisfjörður with Arnhildur Valgarðsdóttir and in Mengi, Reykjavik with fellow improviser Charles Ross) and Greenland, where Katherine has worked with composer Arnannguaq Gerstrøm.

Current projects include Arctic Edgelands, a collaborative programme with Renzo Spiteri and Arnannguaq Gerstrøm, which will premiere at Nordic Music Days, Glasgow, on 2nd November 2024.

Touring projects include:

On a Wing and a Prayer - 3 separate programmes with composers Renzo Spiteri (Shetland), Pete and Joe Stollery (Aberdeenshire) and Lisa Robertson (West Highlands), exploring the changing habitats and effects of climate change around Northern Scotland. The new works are linked with existing pieces by North Atlantic composers Kristian Blak and Anna Thorvaldsdóttir as well as a new commissioned piece from Scottish/Icelandic composer, Charles Ross.

Sagas and Seascapes - Norse stories form the inspiration for this performance by Nordic Viola and the music is accompanied on screen by video curated by Craig Sinclair and abstract art painted in response to the music by Orla Stevens. https://www.sagasandseascapes.com/

Katherine has also recently performed at WayWord literary festival in Aberdeen and Arctic Science Summit Week in a programme of music devised by her and clarinettist/composer Alex South in response to poetry on Arctic exploration and whale song by Lesley Harrison.

In November 2023, Nordic Viola released their first album, “Elsewhere, Elsewhen,” which links Orkney and Iceland through the sagas and prehistory, giving new voice to stories often told from a female perspective by women composers. The album also explores issues of migration, human and avian, and reflects on the beauty and wildness of Shetland and Greenland. In 2025 they will release On A Wing and A Prayer Deeside with Pete and Joe Stollery.

photo by Justin Batchelor