Bio

Katie Westerlund has been a Director of Bands at Fort Hamilton High School since 2021 and teaching since 2019. As a teacher and conductor, Katie directs the Fort Hamilton High School Jazz Band, Jazz Combo, Marching Band, and Woodwind Ensemble. She also directs the West Orange High School Jazz I Ensemble. In their first year together 25-26, WOHS Jazz I was ranked #2 in the state of New Jersey for the first time in school and state history.

Katie has worked directing the Montclair State University Cali Lab Band, as the Assistant Director with Julius Tolentino for the Newark Academy Big Band, Assistant Director for the West Orange High School Marching Mountaineers and has served has an Assistant Director for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Middle School Jazz Academy Brooklyn Cohort.

Under her direction, Fort Hamilton performing ensembles and West Orange HS Jazz I consistently receive state, regional, and national recognition. Her band has recently caught the attention of Jazz at Lincoln Center and she was granted a scholarship to attend the JALC Band Director’s Academy. The Fort Hamilton Jazz Band has been invited to perform at the Juilliard School, Carnegie Hall, and Central Park Zoo.  Most recently the Fort Hamilton Jazz Band has auditioned for Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Essentially Ellington festival with high hopes for the audition in the future. Katie’s students are active participants in Jazz at Lincoln Center’s High School Jazz Academy and Jazz House KiDs’ Montclair and NYC divisions.

Katie is a passionate advocate for gender equality in jazz and was recently named the JazzHers 2025 Educator Connect Finalist, an organization committed to shaping the future of jazz by helping young musicians who identify as female and nonbinary to become connected to and feel empowered within the jazz community.

During the summer she helps direct the West Orange High School Marching Mountaineers and maintains an active and busy private studio. Katie received her undergraduate degree from New York University in Music Education with a focus in jazz and classical saxophone. She received her Master of Music in Jazz Studies at Montclair State University. As a performer, Katie’s quartet and quintet actively gig in New York and the surrounding tristate area. She has most recently been seen at Silvana Harlem and Shanghai Jazz. 

In addition to teaching she currently serves the larger music community as a frequent clinician, adjudicator and speaker. The philosophy to her success comes from being equal parts musician and educator to bring her students the highest caliber of jazz and music education possible.

She has been studying the saxophone for over 20 years and is currently studying with Bruce Williams and her former teachers include: Mike Lee, Julius Tolentino, Alexa Tarantino, Rich Perry, Ralph Lalama, Adam Kolker, and Tim Ruedeman.