COA String Faculty

Dr. Kathleen Crabtree is the adjunct professor of violin and viola at Abilene Christian University and Hardin Simmons University. She is the principal violist of the Sherman Symphony and assistant principal of the Abilene Philharmonic and Allen Philharmonic. While studying at the Eastman School of Music, she won the concerto competition with Margaret Brouwer’s new viola concerto and subsequently performed it at the 2012 International Viola Congress. This began a love affair with contemporary music, and she continues to perform new works on the Sounds Modern concert series in the DFW area. In the summers, she teaches chamber music at Austin College Summer Music Camp. She is the violinist of the Christian metal band Drive Thru Society and Christian cover band Mosaix, with whom she performs around DFW and in Spain on music mission trips. She has also performed with artists such as the Eagles, Evanescence, TransSiberian Orchestra, Sandi Patty, Josh Groban, and Michael Bublé. Her playing can be heard on the posthumous DMX album Let Us Pray: Chapter X with RoyzNoyz Orchestra, Kory Reeder’s works on Kuyin Records and Full Spectrum Records, and upcoming albums by Drive Thru Society and Schoenberg. She graduated from the Eastman School of Music (BM), Cleveland Institute of Music (MM), and University of North Texas (DMA).

Originally from Chicago, Adrienne Banks began studying cello at the age of 9. She graduated with honors from Illinois State University, where she earned a B.M. in music performance and music therapy, studying cello under Dr. Adriana La Rosa Ransom. She was a member of the Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest before moving to Texas in 2016.

Adrienne has traveled around the United States and Europe to perform, including orchestral tours throughout France and Germany and as a cellist with the International Chamber Music Institute in Bulgaria. She has had the pleasure of playing for hundreds of live events, including SXSW musical festival and concert tours for major artists. She has also recorded for various artists’ albums and done live and commercial work for Amazon Prime. Adrienne has a passion for collaborating with theatre artists, having performed for numerous theatrical productions, including as the company cellist for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival.

Adrienne has been a board-certified music therapist (MT-BC) since 2014 and has worked with a wide variety of individuals and groups to bring healing through music. She is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, having served in multiple leadership positions and earning the Regional Alumnae Leadership Award for excellence in music and community service. She currently performs as a core cellist with Sienna String Quartet based in Austin, TX, as a substitute cellist with the Abilene Philharmonic Orchestra, and teaches cello for Abilene ISD while maintaining a private studio.

Coming from South Texas, John Hunter has performed with many of the regional orchestras and is an active teacher and freelancer in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. Some of the orchestras he has performed with include Plano, Fort Worth, Arkansas, Shreveport, National Philharmonic and Dallas Chamber Symphonies.

John was a winner of the UT Arlington Concerto Competition, where he performed Giovanni Bottesini’s Concerto #2 in B minor for Double Bass and Orchestra. He has also attended festivals such as Brevard Music Center, PRISMA, Aruba Symphony Festival and National Music Festival and has performed with members of the Dallas Symphony Orchestra alongside Pinchas Zukerman as part of their collaboration with Southern Methodist University.

John has studied with notable bassists such as Brian Perry, Jack Unzicker, Tyler Shepherd, Paul Unger and has performed in classes for Paul Ellison, Ed Barker, Craig Brown, Daniel Tosky, George Speed and many others. He holds a bachelors in Music Education from UT Rio Grande Valley, Masters in Music from UT Arlington and a Performance Certificate from Southern Methodist University.