Kathryn Fakeley at the Sarasota Music Festival in June 2026. (Image Credit: Supplied)

By Josh Hall

sarasota music festival

Red Deer cellist takes talents international

Jun 12, 2026 | 6:56 AM

A cello player from Red Deer has spent the last two weeks participating in the world-renowned Sarasota Music Festival, but her worldly summer is just getting started.

Kathryn Fakeley was selected from more than 450 applicants to study and perform at the festival, which has taken place in Florida from June 1-13. She has been one of 40 college-age fellows in attendance.

The Sarasota Music Festival sits alongside Aspen and Tanglewood as one of the country’s most selective classical training programs, and its past fellows have gone on to fill concertmaster and principal seats at major American orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra, it was explained.

“It means the world to be at this festival with incredible musicians from around the world. It’s been my dream to pursue music at a high level since I was a little girl. To play alongside artists from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, and Houston Symphony, among others, as well as work with students from Juilliard, Curtis, Harvard, and Princeton is nothing short of a dream come true,” she told rdnewsNOW.

“It makes me proud of how far I’ve come, to be worthy of playing with such musicians, but also makes me aware of how hard I still need to work in order to get to the level I aspire to be at. Here in Sarasota, I’m getting to play incredible music in a beautiful location, and it’s the perfect way to start the summer.”

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Fakeley started playing cello when she was just six, under the tutelage of Janet Kuschack, principal cellist with the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra.

She has performed locally at the Red Deer Kiwanis Music Festival, at farmers’ markets, with the Rosedale Valley Strings, and the Burman University Orchestra.

She also had the honour of soloing with the Red Deer Symphony Orchestra alongside her sister Sofia in 2024.

“I’m about to start my fourth year at the McDuffie Center for Strings, Mercer University in Georgia,” adds Fakeley.

“Next year, I’ll be graduating with a degree in cello performance and a minor in business administration. I hope to pursue a master’s degree after graduation and would love to pursue a multi-faceted career playing orchestra, chamber music, and teaching.”

After Sarasota, Fakeley will head to Italy to perform in the Rome Chamber Music Festival, then spend five weeks later this summer at the Colorado Music Festival, performing in the symphony and with her string quartet.

by Josh Hall

Red Deer cellist takes talents international

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