Catherine studied Music at the University of York, where she conducted ensembles including the University Big Band and student Concert Band and Orchestra. She also performed in many groups as a clarinettist, saxophonist and recorder player. Upon graduating in 1997 she was awarded the John Paynter Prize in recognition of her contribution to the Music Department. Catherine then worked as music teacher in secondary schools in Newcastle and London and obtained the Postgraduate Certificate in Education. During this time, she also worked and performed with the National Youth Music Theatre and was a founder member of Payback, one of London’s leading function bands.
Catherine has a Ph.D. from City University, London on Jazz in Britain. Her work has been published in recognised journals, (articles in British Postgraduate Musicology Online and Popular Music can be accessed online) and has been presented at national and international conferences. Catherine's book "The Evolution of Jazz in Britain 1880-1935" is published by Ashgate and can be purchased from Amazon. Catherine is currently a Lecturer at Leeds College of Music, where she teaches in the areas of critical musicology, popular music and jazz on undergraduate and postgraduate courses. She is also responsible for co-ordinating research activities such as seminars, conferences and publications.
Catherine continues to be active as an instrumentalist and conductor in both classical and popular styles. She is Musical Director of Dr Jazz and the Cheshire Cats Big Band and Assistant Musical Director of the North Cheshire Concert Band. Her particular interest in music for winds has also informed recent research on jazz-influenced repertoire which has been published in Winds, the magazine of the British Association of Symphonic Bands and Wind Ensembles and the Journal of the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles. Catherine has participated in conducting masterclasses with George Hurst, Neil Thomson, Peter Seymour, Elgar Howarth and Guy Woolfenden and reached the final of the NAYO British Reserve Insurance Conducting Competition. Forthcoming engagements include the West Yorkshire Symphony Orchestra in 2006.