Katie A. Berglof
Photo Caption: I play a Holton Merker, a horn developed by former legendary professional horn player, Ethel Merker (b.1923 - d. 2012), one of the first and only women to have a signature designed and a major production horn line named after her.
That is extraordinarily rare. In fact, it is almost unheard of in brass instrument history!
Merker was not just a performer attached to a name. She was deeply involved in the design itself. Even the rotary caps on this horn were part of her vision and are considered part of her signature.
Although she worked alongside the famed Philip Farkas, it is clear from those who knew her and from the legacy she left behind that she brought far more to the table than history has fully credited. She was known for her sharp intellect, her musical authority, and her unwillingness to be overlooked.
This instrument is not just a model, it is evidence. And every time I play it, I am reminded that women have always shaped this field, even when the recognition did not follow.
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Katie Berglof is a founding board member of Unbound Symphony and serves as Chair of the Personnel Committee. She is widely known as a classical music journalist and national advocate for musician health, safety, and equity in the performing arts. She also is a horn player and music educator.
Katie began her music studies at the University of Northern Colorado and completed her Bachelor of Music Performance on Horn at the University of Northern Iowa. She pursued her post-graduate and graduate studies in K-12 music education and arts administration/leadership at the University of Colorado Boulder and Seattle University. She is certified in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion through the human resources association HRCI.
Her professional experience spans performance, education, labor, and executive leadership. After interning both as an Executive Assistant for Byron Schenkman & Friends, and in Development Operations at the Seattle Symphony, she was hired by the Seattle Symphony as their Office Administrator in People & Culture (HR) where she also fulfilled the roles of Interim Executive Assistant to the President and CEO, and COVID Coordinator. During her time there she proctored several professional auditions, and represented the SSO on the Northwest Orchestra Gathering Steering Committee.
She went on to work for the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE), a labor union advocating for fair labor practices of performing arts stage technicians. She also has experience working as a Program Assistant for El Sistema Colorado, and in Outreach & Community Engagement at the University of Denver Newman Performing Arts Center.
Her national leadership includes serving on the Advisory Council for the Arts Education Partnership which is a collaboration among the National Endowment for the Arts, the U.S. Department of Education, and the Education Commission of the States, as well as on the Young Professionals Committee of the Performing Arts Medicine Association.
Katie is the founder and Chief Editor of Harpsichords & Hot Sauce, an online journal examining culture, ethics, and reform in classical music. She also founded Courage Over Silence a defense fund supporting musicians facing harassment, discrimination, and retaliation. Widely recognized for her work in musician’s dystonia awareness, she has spent more than a decade publicly documenting her own recovery and advocating for stronger integration between music and medicine.
At Unbound Symphony, Katie brings strategic leadership grounded in institutional knowledge, labor awareness, and a deep commitment to inclusive artistic communities. Her work centers on cultivating a culture of care, strengthening regional partnerships across the greater Seattle area, and ensuring that women and gender marginalized artists have meaningful opportunities to create, collaborate, and lead.