Katie O'Hara LaBrie
Katie O’Hara LaBrie is a conductor, composer, and clinician from Northern Virginia. She holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from St. Olaf College and a Master of Music in Instrumental Conducting from George Mason University. Her primary conducting teachers include Anthony Maiello, Steven Amundson & Timothy Mahr, as well as David Carter on cello.
As an educator, Mrs. LaBrie taught orchestra in Fairfax County, Virginia for over 15 years, from elementary through high school levels, where her ensembles frequently received superior ratings at state assessment. Under her direction, the LJMS Chamber Orchestra was honored as the only middle school orchestra honored to perform at the 2018 VMEA conference.
As a composer, she finds inspiration from many sources, but primarily draws from her students and her own experiences as a music educator. She creates new music with the goal of being educationally sound, enjoyable for audiences, and above all, fun for the players. She has had a fruitful start to her compositional career, where a bulk of her pieces have received J. W. Pepper Editor’s Choice ratings during their publication years. Her works have also been honored with performances at the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic.
Mrs. LaBrie is a member of NAFME, VMEA, ASTA, and ASCAP. She is an active guest conductor, adjudicator, and clinician. She had presented new music clinics at the VMEA State Conference in 2015 and the first ever Virginia Department of Education Orchestra Director’s Institute in 2019. She is the co-creator of The Big I.D.E.A., a free method that teaches musicians how to practice with purpose, which was presented at the 2017 VMEA State Conference and the 2020 ASTA National Conference.
Mrs. LaBrie is the founding conductor of the Fairfax Chamber Players, an orchestra made up entirely of music educators, and the founding co-director of Stallion Summer Strings Summer Camp. She lives in Fairfax with her husband Joe who is a middle school band director, and their budding elementary musician, Liam.
For more information visit katieoharalabrie.com and www.practicewithpurpose.net
