Dr. Petersen was most recently heard singing the role of Mimi with Opera Columbus in their production of "La bohème." She also appeared with Opera Columbus last spring in their main stage production of "La Traviata" as Annina. Season 2015/2016 highlights include concert performances with several chamber orchestras throughout Utah performing concert repertoire including "Dona Nobis Pacem" by Ralph Vaughan Williams, Barber’s "Knoxville: Summer 1915," Villa-Lobos’s "Bachianas brasileiras No.5," and the soprano solos in Handel’s "Messiah." She has appeared as Musetta in Bay View Music Festival’s production of "La Bohème" and in the spring of 2014, Katherine sang the role of Valencienne in the Opera Columbus OOTE production of "The Merry Widow." With the Russian Opera Workshop in Philadelphia, she performed the title roles in Rachmaninoff’s "Francesca di Rimini" and Tchaikovsky’s "Romeo and Juliet." Her other roles include Pamina, "Die Zauberflöte;" Micaëla, "Carmen;" the Mother/Sandman, "Hänsel und Gretel;" Una Conversa, "Suor Angelica."

An active pedagogue and teacher, Katherine is currently Assistant Professor of Voice at Northeastern Illinois University in Chicago where she teaches Studio Voice and Diction for Singers. She holds a DMA in Voice Performance from Ohio State University where she studied with Scott McCoy. During her time at Ohio State University, Katherine was head of the Swank Voice Lab for Research and Pedagogy and taught several courses including Voice Pedagogy and Advanced Measurement Techniques for Voice. She co-hosted the 2014 NATS Summer Intern Program and the 2015 International Voice Pedagogy Summit. Katherine’s doctoral dissertation “Russian Repertoire: Developmental Perspectives” investigates the paucity of Russian Song Repertoire in the American voice studio and recital hall. From her research, Katherine has created a repertoire selection guide and lecture recital to better acquaint singers and teachers with Russian Art Song.

In June 2017 Katherine traveled to Toronto, Ontario, to participate in the NATS Summer Intern Program, an intensive training program that seeks to pair expert and recognized master teachers with talented young members of NATS.