“An accomplished performer, educator, composer, music contractor, and commissioner of new works, Kate Amrine is the epitome of the 21st century renaissance artist” - International Trumpet Guild Journal -  2018
 

This is My Letter to the World - Album Press   

 

 

"Throughout the work, the phrases “I’m sorry” and “I’m not sorry” are spoken with hypnotic steadiness, using harmonies from Beethoven’s Piano Sonata, Op. 110. Amrine accents certain moments in the cadence of the text with single pitches on the trumpet, while Kate Barmotina provides a counterpoint with viola and vocals. I’m Sorry Not Sorry does an excellent job of communicating a wealth of emotional nuance with a simple yet effective text....

Niloufar Nourbakhsh takes a similarly pithy approach to text in My Body My Choice. The work opens with an expansive, vibrato-heavy trumpet solo; a low, modulating electronics track joins in and the trumpet playing becomes more pointillistic and questioning. A woman’s voice repeats the mantra “my body my choice,” first as a whisper, but before long, it grows to declamatory shouting that is mirrored in Amrine’s trumpeting. Sitting at just two and a half minutes, this is one of the shortest and yet most impactful tracks. Like Fulton, Nourbakhsh uses minimal text to great effect, and the formal simplicity leaves room for Amrine’s timbral wizardry to shine.....

The chamber work cobbles together elegant, nostalgic music on winds and strings, the sounds of a forest fire, and Amrine’s chant-like setting of Buckel’s letter; the movement abruptly ends with her distorted voice and a chilling quote, “My early death by fossil fuels reflects what we are doing to ourselves.” ....

If this sampling is any indication, This is My Letter to the World is chock-full of pieces that overtly tackle some timely social and political issues. With a variety of approaches to contemporary trumpet performance, these works are a testament to the resilience of the trumpet as a solo instrument, and to Amrine’s creativity in curating and advocating for this repertoire. Taken as a whole, the album is overwhelming in its scope; yet it also succeeds in creating a musical manifesto, one that is thought-provoking and alarming in the best way possible.....
- I Care if You Listen April 2020

 

"Equipped with an excellent clean and precise timbre, the American artist skillfully juggles a series of multiple and different songs, composed by different composers as well as herself. " - Kathodik - voted 4 stars 

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"a beautiful avant-garde work" -  Kathodik - voted 4 stars 

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Its title derived from Emily Dickinson's 1862 poem, Kate Amrine's 
This is My Letter to the World is a deeply engaged communiqué dealing
withpressing social and political issues. Among the topics addressed on
the NYC-based trumpeter's self-produced sophomore effort are
gun violence, abortion rights, discrimination, climate change, feminism,
identity, and immigration. Whereas Amrine's debut As I Am addressed
empowerment head-on by featuring music by women composers,
her new one expands on it with topics of equally resonant character
and material by female and non-female composers.
- Textura - April 2020

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This is Amrine’s second release and it is a unique blend of trumpet
with a variety of other players in duos: Roberta Michel (alto flute),
Carrie Frey (viola), Amanda Gookin (cello), Leanne Friedman (alto flute,
Ford Fourqurean (bass clarinet), Kate Barmotina (viola, vocal),
Alia Kuhnert and Maddi Lusby (trumpet, vocals) and Kyra Sims (narrator).
This pieces present sonic art as in a sonic exhibit one would imagine
in a gallery. -  WTJU University of Virginia 91.1 FM

 

 

As I Am - Album Press  

“She followed Anx with another of her own compositions, As I Am, which was written about her experiences with dating. The wandering, seemingly aimless legato melodies of As I Am reminded me of my own trials and tribulations navigating the NYC dating scene. Just as with a new music concert, you never know what you’re gonna get when you meet up with your latest Tinder match, a familiar sensation of curiosity and dread that was perfectly evoked by the deceptive simplicity of Amrine’s piece.”- Rebecca Lentjes in the National Sawdust Log Journal - 2018

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"A short setting for solo flugelhorn, Amrine's self-authored title piece exudes a pleading quality in its stark expressions and thereby deepens the personal character of the recording. In Han's Yaygara, the muted horn assumes a bugle-like character, Amrine's declamatory playing offset by quiet, breathy passages and brief vocal punctuations. Originally written for euphonium and later adapted for trumpet, Rudman's haunting Elegy was recorded in a concert hall at Peabody Conservatory to dramatize its range of notes and dynamic levels, while, at album's end, Piunno's Monterey Letters: Seeking and The Voice of One Crying Out serve as a final reminder of Amrine's prowess as a solo player, how effectively her expressive playing can fill a space."Textura Magazine - 2018
 

Textura Magazine presents “Backtracking” – A Description of each track on As I am 

 

“With all of the work, craft, and support involved in this project, one hopes that more will soon be coming from Kate Amrine and friends” - International Trumpet Guild Journal -  2018
 

“Kate Amrine’s new album “As I Am” is a beautiful statement. Kate’s creativity, curiosity and level of engagement with modern music is inspiring. I hope there are more concerts and albums to come from this exciting new instrumentalist and composer.” – Peter Evans, trumpeter and composer (International Contemporary Ensemble, John Zorn, Wet Ink Ensemble, and more)

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