Katherine "Kool Kat" Farnham has utilized her talent as a Billboard-charting, award-winning and internationally-acclaimed singer, songwriter and pianist.
LOS ANGELES, CA, November 27, 2019 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Marquis Who's Who, the world's premier publisher of biographical profiles, is proud to present Katherine "Kool Kat" Farnham with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award. An accomplished listee, Ms. Farnham celebrates many years' experience in her professional network, and has been noted for achievements, leadership qualities, and the credentials and successes she has accrued in her field. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.
Having accrued considerable music industry experience, Ms. Farnham has utilized her talent as a Billboard-charting, award-winning and internationally-acclaimed singer, songwriter and pianist. The owner and founder of Voice Inside Productions, she has also provided services as an artist development expert, and coach and implemented the highly successful Audition Preparation Program. She taught as Adjunct Voice Faculty at Miami's acclaimed New World School of the Arts Conservatory, the Tommy LiPuma Center for Creative Arts in Cleveland and was Lead Instructor for the International Performing Arts Academy in Nashville. She also served as Celebrity Adjudicator in the Non-Classical Voice Category for the Los Angeles Music Center's Annual Spotlight Awards for two consecutive years.
A six-time Global Music Award Medalist, Katherine has found much success as a jazz and Americana recording artist, touring regionally and nationally and performing abroad. In addition to her own considerable discography as a solo artist, she has also contributed to numerous other albums as Guest Artist, Background Vocalist and Vocal Coach. Some of Katherine's albums include "For the Love of it All", "Songs from the Troubadour", "Mosaic, Miami's Theme Song of Unity" and "Vintage", the latter of which features Grammy winner and legendary saxophonist Kirk Whalum, Latin Grammy winner Nestor Torres and Four-Time Grammy nominee Denny Jiosa. Her contributions to jazz were recognized with "Vintage" historically as it was placed in the prestigious archives at the Mediatheque Musicale in Paris, France. A highlight of her career occurred during the recording session for the aforementioned, star-studded album.
Mr. Whalum traveled from Memphis to Nashville to record specifically on this CD. His presence and talent provided a very special glow in the room.
Katherine has devoted a considerable amount of time to giving back as an educator, volunteer and activist. As the founder of Music for Peace International, she donated countless hours of time helping to use music to reduce conflict and create peace in communities. She organized and sponsored six benefit concerts in Miami and Los Angeles supporting ethnic unity and music education. She has also given performances for many important organizations, including the National Coalition for Community and Justice, the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Music Clubs, The Women's Club, Daughters of the American Revolution, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, American Bible Society and others. One of her most cherished career experiences was serving as music mentor to inner city kids in Los Angeles and Compton.
In addition, she served as Choir Director and Accompanist at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in East Nashville. For some of her community service efforts, she was recognized with a Rotary Outstanding Service Award.
Katherine has taught both voice and piano at many institutions across the nation and has coached more than 25 music genres. Her students include award-winning vocalists, American Idol finalists, professionals actors and music theatre performers.
A third-generation musician, Ms. Farnham began gravitating toward her career path from a young age. The daughter of two professional musicians and educators, she was surrounded by music and conversations about the art form every day throughout her youth. Her artistic legacy dates back in a direct line of teachers and students to legendary concert pianist, virtuoso and composer Franz Liszt. She started training as a pianist at four years old and was performing jazz vocal solos a year later. She subsequently found her true place in the world of music as a world-class singer with four octaves. Ms. Farnham pursued a formal education at the Berklee College of Music, where she earned a Bachelor of Music, summa cum laude and graduated from the Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music within the University of Miami for her Master's
of Music.
Notably, Ms. Farnham has appeared on "Good Morning America", performed live on NBC 6 and Telemundo and sung on stages with Latin jazz greats Celia Cruz and Tito Puente Jr. She has inspired audiences with her formidable courage by performing at major athletic events such as the Ericsson Open where she was the only female performer, The Miami Marathon and national tour dates for NASCAR. The award-winning, critically acclaimed "Vintage" album garnered interviews and airplay in US, Canada, Europe, South America and Africa along with standing ovation and sold out performances including an appearance at the Hub City Jazz festival outside New York City.
Throughout her prolific career, she has maintained her affiliation with numerous organizations, including the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers and the American Federation of Musicians. Ms. Farnham has also been a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing, Music Teachers National Association, the National Federation of Music Clubs, the Jazz Education Network and others.
As a testament to her accomplishments in the field, Ms. Farnham was recognized with two Global Music Award medals in 2019, for Jazz/Blues Song and Female Vocalist for her rendition of Billie Holiday's classic "Good Morning Heartache" and for Songwriter and Lyrics/Song for her new original "Night of Romance". Both selections are from her new album to be released in 2020 featuring Grammy nominees Mindi Abair and Denny Jiosa and Grammy winner and Blues Hall of Famer Darrel Leonard. She has won many other music awards including a 2017 Hollywood F.A.M.E. Award for Special Achievement - Singer Songwriter, and a Las Vegas F.A.M.E. Award for Outstanding Jazz Performer. In addition to winning a Los Angeles Music Award in 2014 for Female Singer/Songwriter of the Year, she was also chosen as the top Female Singer/Songwriter in the entire 25 year history of the awards show. In 2016, she was nominated as Female Vocalist for her Spanish language singing at the HG Radio Awards in Mexico. A prolific songwriter, she won the South Florida Songwriter of the Year title as well and was also chosen as a Performer/Songwriter Competition winner at Berklee College of Music.
Likewise, Ms. Farnham has also been featured in myriad Who's Who publications, including Who's Who in America, Who's Who in American Women and Who's Who in the World.
Ms. Farnham has found much success with her written works as well, having been published as the author of "The Vocal Mentor" and "The Vintage Poetry Collection," an audiobook featuring poems she has written since her freshman year of college. This audiobook won her a Las Vegas F.A.M.E. Award for Best Spoken Word Album. She also created an additional collection of recorded poetry due out in 2020. She has contributed music-oriented articles to publications, such as "The Voice Inside" columns in RAG Magazine and "Reaching into Your Soul with Music" in Natural Awakenings Magazine. Looking toward the future, she strives to continue releasing positive songs, focusing on growing as a lifelong learner, and honing her ever impressive set of musical skills as vocalist, jazz instrumentalist and more. In her spare time, Ms. Farnham enjoys
reading, swimming, traveling, watching movies and practicing yoga.
Ms. Farnham plays Steinway pianos.
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