Kay Werth

Instructor
MM, Ohio University, 1985
Oboe, Bassoon, Flute, Piano
Office: Malloy Hall 232
Phone: (785) 628-5360
Email: kwerth@fhsu.edu

For the past seven years, Victoria native Kay Schulte Werth has served as instructor of flute, oboe and bassoon in the Department of Music at Fort Hays State University. Since 2004, she has served as Director of High Plains Band Camp. She earned a Bachelors of Music Education (emphasis in piano) from Marymount College in 1983 and a Master's of Music in Woodwind Pedagogy (emphasis in oboe and bassoon) from Ohio University in 1985. Her earliest performing "gigs" included those of a cocktail pianist at the Bijou club in Hays, the Salina Country Club and the Imperial Hotel in Cripple Creek, Colorado. During graduate school at the Ohio University, Kay routinely performed at the Century House in Athens, The Ohio Center in Columbus and the Grand Hyatt Hotel in New York. Throughout her career as a pianist, Kay maintained her interest in playing the oboe which began in the 1970s with the Hays Symphonic Orchestra under the direction of Lyle Dilley. In 1979, she earned the position of principal oboe with the Salina Symphony under the baton of Maestro Eric Stein. Kay performed in this capacity for 21 years, frequently appearing as featured soloist. Other professional organizations in which she has performed include the Charleston Symphony, the Kansas City Symphony and the Wichita Grand Opera. Through these professional organizations, Kay has had the opportunity to perform and record with a wide range of artists including Barry Manilow, Mel Torme, Collin Raye, Emmanuel Axe, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti.

Prior to her appointment at Fort Hays State University, Kay was employed by the Ulysses and Concordia School Districts as a Woodwind Specialist / Band Director (1985-1991). The following years (1991- 1999) were primarily devoted to being a mother while maintaining a private piano and woodwind studio in her home. From 1999 through 2006, Kay served as Flute and Double Reed Instructor at Kansas Wesleyan University in Salina. In 1999, she founded the High Plains Double Reed Consort, which meets yearly to perform music during the Holiday Season. The group now has over 40 members who play oboe, oboe d'amour, English horn, bassoon and contra bassoon.

Kay is an active member of the Midwest Double Reed Society, International Double Reed Society, Kansas Music Teachers Association, Kansas Music Educators Association, Sigma Alpha Iota and Rotary International. She's had several articles published in the International Double Reed Journal on Pedagogical Practices in reference to oboe and bassoon. She has also presented workshops to Kansas Bandmasters on teaching double reeds to students of all levels and ages. On a local level, Kay continues to serve on the committee for the Festival of Faith, organizing local musicians for the annual ecumenical Service. She keeps an active performance schedule with the Hays City Flute Quartet and the Werth Trio.