Katarina Pliego
Katarina Pliego
- Title
- Orchestra Director
- pliego_katarina@svvsd.org
- Department
- Music
- Education
- Doctor of Arts in Cello Performance from University of Northern Colorado, Master of Music in Cello performance from Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, Bachelor of Arts from Cello Performance at Anglia Ruskin University Cambridge
- Bio
-
Dr. Katarina Pliego is a passionate and innovative educator, cellist, and author. At the heart of Dr. Pliego’s work is a deep commitment to music education. For three years, she served as a teaching assistant at UNC, and eight years on the faculty at Front Range Community College. She is now excited to be starting her second year at Silver Creek High School music team, where she aims to inspire students and provide them with a well-rounded education in both music and life skills. Known for her student-centered approach, she fosters creativity, discipline, and joy in music-making. Her teaching has led to impressive student accomplishments, including placements in competitive district and state orchestras and scholarship offers from major universities for cello performance.
Beyond the classroom, Dr. Pliego maintains a thriving private cello studio and serves on the summer faculty of Rocky Ridge Music and Just Chamber Music. As an author, Dr. Pliego extends her educational mission through literature. Her bilingual children’s book, Emilia Tries the Cello (Emilia Prueba el Violonchelo), earned national recognition and was published in 2022 to introduce young audiences to music through storytelling. As a performer, she appears regularly as a soloist and orchestral player with regional orchestras. Her genre-crossing versatility includes collaborations with artists such as Father John Misty, Kygo, Michael Bublé and Ben Folds.
Outside of school, Dr. Pliego enjoys spending time with her adventurous crew: her husband, their two energetic daughters, plus a *couple* of pets that include Tosca the dog (named after an Italian opera), Cannoli the puppy, Dante the cat, and five quirky chickens.
The Pliego family loves hiking, taking road trips, planting flowers, and spending time in the backyard, where the chickens rule the roost. Every summer, they travel to Dr. Pliego's home country of Slovenia for a dose of sunshine, family, and great food. A martial arts enthusiast, Dr. Pliego spends a lot of time at the Karate dojo, and is a USANKF certified Karate coach.
- Links