Welcome to the Backstage: Classical Conversations Podcast!

About Us

Have you ever heard a performance from a great musician and wonder what their story is? Were their parents musicians? Who were their mentors? How did they get to where they are, and what steps did they take to become so great? Backstage: Classical Conversations was created by host Katrina Stroud, a classical violinist and graduate student at the University of Michigan School of Music, to answer these questions from some of the top classically trained string instrumentalists in the country. On this podcast you will hear from professional musicians about their musical backgrounds, education, mentors, challenges, career highlights, collaborations, and advice they have to give to aspiring professional musicians. This podcast shows aspiring professional musicians that not all classical music careers look the same, and shares the stories and deep professional knowledge of successful professionals in their industry. Backstage: Classical Conversations also strives to preserve the legacies of great artists who have been influenced by generations of past musicians and who continue to influence the next generation of musicians.  

Katrina started the podcast in May of 2025 after she took an Entrepreneurship class at her undergraduate institution, the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings at Mercer University. The class was prompted to come up with a pitch for $500 from a local community member, and she came up with the idea to start a podcast to interview the renowned faculty members at the McDuffie Center. Katrina also wanted to learn how to record and edit videos of her violin performances. She earned the $500 and used the money to buy a video camera for the podcast, recorded the first interview, and launched the first episode in the summer. Included on the podcast are professional musicians such as concertmasters David Kim (Philadelphia Orchestra) and Nathan Cole (Boston Symphony), string quartet legends such as Lawrence Dutton and Paul Watkins (Emerson Quartet), world-class soloists such as Nancy Zhou and Robert McDuffie, and pedagogues such as Danielle Belen (University of Michigan) and Misha Amory (Juilliard and Curtis) among many others. 

Katrina hopes that Backstage: Classical Conversations inspires others as much as it inspires her to hear from these incredible musicians who have devoted their lives to their craft. 

About the Host

Katrina Stroud Profile Photo
Katrina Stroud

Host

Katrina Stroud has been playing violin since the age of three and currently attends the University of Michigan studying with Fabiola Kim, and graduated from the Robert McDuffie Center for Strings with her Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance with electives in Business. As a sophomore in college in 2023 she won second prize in the St. Paul String Quartet Competition and was a quarter-finalist in the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition.

Katrina has performed in the Fabian Concert Series of Mercer University alongside violinist Amy Schwartz Moretti, cellist Sihao He and pianist Jeewon Park. She has also performed on the concert series Andy and Friends, UCSB Chamber Music, and New Canaan Chamber Music. She performed in the Emmy award-winning “A Night of Georgia Music” which was broadcast on national television with violinist Robert McDuffie; Mike Mills, bass guitarist of REM; and pianist Chuck Leavell of The Rolling Stones. Katrina has worked with world-renowned pedagogues and performers such as Paul Kantor, Miriam Fried, Robert Lipsett, Vadim Gluzman, James Ehnes, Donald Weilerstein, and Peter Oundjian among others.

Katrina was a member of the Macon-Mercer Symphony Orchestra where she was concertmaster and principal second violinist and is currently the Principal Second Violinist of the University of Michigan University Philharmonic Orchestra. She has also performed with the New World Symphony as a substitute musician. She has performed under the baton of Leonard Slatkin, Peter Oundjian, Paul Watkins, Robert Spano, Roderick Cox, Peter Bay, and Jane Glover to name a few. As an avid chamber musician Katrina has worked with members of the Emerson, Cavani, Tokyo, Cleveland, Calidore, Attacca, and Ariel String Quartets among others. She has participated in a student-led program, the New Music Initiative for Black Voices, which collaborates with young black composers and gives them a voice in the classical music industry. Katrina has spent her summers at the Aspen Music Festival, Rome Chamber Music Festival, Center Stage Strings, Encore Chamber Music String and Chamber Music Intensive, Sounding Point Academy, Madeline Island Chamber Music Festival, Texas Strings Festival, and was a fellow at the Blackburn Music Academy at Festival Napa Valley.