The first American woman to win a Tony Award for Best Orchestrations, Katie Kresek’s dynamic career as performer, creator, and educator is defined by versatility and multi-genre musical artistry. Her work blends her vast experience as a string player, vocalist, music director, and arranger with a lifelong commitment to creating and sharing her art with collaborators, audiences, and students around the world. In addition to numerous projects with legendary musical artists, she is currently the concertmaster and co-orchestrator of Moulin Rouge! The Musical at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Broadway, for which she has received both the 2020 Tony Award for Best Orchestrations and a 2020 Outer Critics Circle Honor for Outstanding Orchestrations.

Drawing on a peripatetic upbringing steeped in classical, folk, musical theatre, pop, and tango, her arrangements blend her vast experience as a performer with an imaginative synthesis of compositional styles. Her collaborations explore a wide vocabulary of idiomatic techniques, instrumental timbres and textures. In addition to Moulin Rouge! The Musical, recent arranging projects include David Byrne’s forthcoming album Who Is The Sky? (coming September 2025), Beck’s 2024 Orchestral Tour, Ariana Grande’s Eternal Sunshine Live, The Met Gala, Falling in Love at The Friedrichstadt Palest Berlin, Jonathan Coulton's Some Guys, Phillip Phillips Behind The Light, and Lana Del Rey's Body Electric on the Born to Die: Paradise LP which was nominated for a Grammy Award. She has also written arrangements for Lizzo and James Galway, Trey Anastasio, Rosanne Cash, Jesca Hoop, Misterwives, Richard Marx, Five for Fighting, Sleeping At Last, The Ghost Train Orchestra, and many others.

As a violinist, she has performed on albums with artists including Norah Jones, James Taylor, Paul Simon, and recently with Sarah Jarosz on her album World on the Ground, which won the 2021 Grammy Award for Best Americana Album. She joined Trey Anastasio at his eight-week virtual residency, Beacon Jams, as leader of the Rescue Squad Strings. Tours include Adele 25 Live in both Europe and North America, Elbow as both violinist and backing vocalist, Five For Fighting Live with String Quartet as Music Director and lead violin, Father John Misty’s Pure Comedy Tour as lead violin, Jesca Hoop as backing vocalist and lead violin, Bright Eyes, Rod Stewart at Madison Square Garden, and in Europe, US, Japan, and Latin America as the lead violinist and strings arranger for Lana Del Rey. She served as the concertmaster and backing vocalist of David Byrne's Contemporary Color, performing with St. Vincent, Tune-Yards, Lucius, and Nelly Furtado in shows in Toronto and New York. She has also performed and/or recorded with Ariana Grande, Lizzo, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Rufus Wainwright, Rosanne Cash, Diana Krall, Billy Porter, Pharrell Williams, Phillip Phillips, A Great Big World, Bastille, Steve Martin & Edie Brickell, Alicia Keys, Angelique Kidjo, O.A.R., Shakira, KD Lang, Chris Martin, John Mayer, Jewel, Lenny Kravitz, Joanna Newsom, Enya, Ayo, Maya Isacowitz, Misterwives, Frank Ocean, MNDR, She & Him, Amber Rubarth, Kishi Bashi, The Hot Sardines, Breaking Benjamin, Zayn Malik, RY X, Trampled by Turtles, Chromeo, Andrew Bayer, JViewz, Marc Almond, Sir Jacobsen, Adriel Denae, The O’Jays, Colin McGrath, and many others.

She is also a founding member of the XQuartet; a string ensemble dedicated to the art of singer-songwriter collaboration in the studio and on stage. Since its inception, the quartet has emerged as one of the leading ensembles of its kind.

Her work in television includes performances on Saturday Night Live, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, The Late Show with James Corden, The Late Show with Steven Colbert, American Idol, Bluegrass Underground, Jimmy Kimmel Live, The Today Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, The View, CBS The Early Show, The Rockefeller Christmas Tree Lighting, and the 51st Annual Grammy Awards. Her Broadway experience includes performances in the original New York production and Angelica Tour of Hamilton, The Cher Show, Charlie & The Chocolate Factory, American Idiot, The Lion King, Chaplin, Follies, Cinderella, The Phantom of the Opera, Gigi, Honeymoon in Vegas, Matilda, Pippin, On The Town, A Minister's Wife, Giant, and Frozen.

As a music and talent coordinator, Katie has put together ensembles for numerous national and international film, television, recording and touring projects, including the 2014 Met Gala with Frank Ocean, Adele’s debut at the 2009 Grammy Awards, and Adele’s 2015 television special “Live at Radio City” on NBC.

Katie holds a B.F.A. in music performance, a B.A. in literature, and a certificate in arts management from Purchase College, an M.M. in music performance from The Mannes College of Music, and a Masters and Doctorate in music and music education from Columbia University. Additional studies in arranging, orchestration, and film scoring at Berklee College of Music and The Juilliard School. Widely known in the arts in education community for her energetic and responsive teaching, coaching, and concert hosting work, she has served as teaching artist for Lincoln Center Education, The New York Philharmonic, and many other cultural organizations. She currently maintains a private studio, teaches at Columbia University Teachers College, and is the founder and Director of The Krakauer Institute for Intensive Summer Study - an annual musical retreat named for her late teacher, Barbara Krakauer, that brings musicians of all levels to the South of France for an immersive opportunity to connect with their instrument and personal artistry in a supportive community . Click on “Teaching” for more information.