Katherine Philp originally from Murwillumbah (northern N.S.W), began cello studies with Mei-Lee Stocker at age 14, and at 16 was accepted into the Queensland Conservatorium studying performance and pedagogy.

Since then she has been the recipient of numerous awards including the Vada Jeffries Bach Prize and the 4MBS Chamber Music Competition.

As a chamber musician Katherine has performed and toured widely throughout Queensland and N.S.W, performed in the finals of the Australian Chamber Music Competition, collaborated with Didgeridoo soloist William Barton and broadcast live and recorded for ABC Classic FM. She has also performed for the Australian Festival of Chamber Music, Canberra International Music Festival, the Bangalow Music Festival and the Four Winds Festival. Katherine has a strong interest in contemporary classical music and has worked closely with Australian composers Elena Kats-Chernin, Matthew Hindson, Timothy Constable and Peter Sculthorpe. 

Along with classical performance Katherine improvises, playing regularly with Tibetan singer/instrumentalist Tenzin Choegyal and has worked on a number of collaborations, ranging from settings of Rumi poetry with Iranian musician Cievash Aryan to performances with Monks from the Dalai Lama’s Namgyal Monastery. Katherine recently undertook an Asialink residency (supported by Arts Queensland and Australia Council) at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in Dharamshala, India, where she studied Tibetan classical and folk music.