Rosine’s Biography
Photo Credit: KARIM ZANDIEH
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Once upon a time, Rosine Katan was born to a French mother hailing from Normandy and to a Hungarian-American father. Out of this European heritage, Rosine first learned how to speak in French, then in English.
As the daughter of two pioneering Phd parents, Rosine was raised in a family where education and the Arts were highly valued and encouraged. So much so, that in 1956 her parents both founded Spoken Arts, Inc., the trailblazing company partly responsible for the creation of the Audio Book/Books-on-Tape industry.
Her parents believed there was a need to preserve the voice of authors through the recording of their works, whenever possible the authors reading their own work. Spoken Arts, Inc. established itself as a pioneer in the spoken word recording industry, recording such authors as Arthur Miller and Dorothy Parker and actors/actresses such as Eli Wallach and Julie Harris.
In 2001, Rosine administered her family’s donation of the 750+ master Spoken Arts Inc. audio recording catalog to the Yale University Historical Sound Recordings Library. The audio collection remains in perpetuity at Yale University for literary audio lovers worldwide. For more information on the Spoken Arts Inc. Audio collection at Yale University, visit http://web.library.yale.edu/music/hsr/spoken-arts/home
Rosine continues to oversee the licensing of her father’s landmark audio recording series, “The Spoken Arts Treasury of 100 Modern American Poets Reading Their Poems” for her parents’ remaining business, Arthur Luce Klein & Associates, Inc.
Back in childhood, while Rosine’s parents were deeply involved with the Literary Arts, Rosine fell in love with learning the art of music. It was in this highly artistic family environment that the roots of Rosine’s interest in Human Development were cultivated. The belief that learning for learning’s sake is a necessary part of the human experience fostered Rosine’s later development as a Human Development music educator.
Rosine began taking piano lessons at the age of six, and violin lessons at the age of eight. She was blessed to study piano with Sara Rubinstein, a Julliard prep piano professor who shepherded Rosine’s piano studies until Rosine turned 18 years old. Mrs. Rubinstein believed in the importance of ensemble playing for piano students, so she paired Rosine with Ted Sperling as Duo-piano partners. The team performed for six years until graduating from High School.
Rosine continued with her piano studies at Oberlin where she was a double-degree candidate in both the Conservatory and College divisions as a Piano and Psychology major.
Rosine’s studies at Oberlin Conservatory of Music exposed her to a rich variety of musical experiences which nourished her passion for learning. Aside from her classical piano studies with Peter Tacaks, Rosine studied South Indian singing and mrdangam drumming with visiting South Indian musician/mrdangam player, Ramnad Rhagavan; she discovered jazz music and began studying Jazz piano with her peer, Michael Udelson; she spent a Winter term studying oboe and flute, discovered the music of French composer, Olivier Messiaen when he visited Oberlin, and discovered her interest in Music History while studying with Professor James Hepokoski. The brilliant musicologist set a standard for discipline and humility as he encouraged his students to listen to one new piece of music every week for the rest of their lives.
Rosine’s Oberlin immersion in music set the stage for the next five years spent living in the Bay Area of California, exploring and developing her skills in a variety of music projects. She worked as a music director, piano accompanist, and performer for several children’s community Musical Theatre companies. She began to teach piano. She also gained experience in the commercial music field, performing as a keyboardist and back-up singer in various bands ranging from Reggae and Motown to Pop and Afro-Rock.
During this time, Rosine also began taking jazz singing lessons and teaching herself how to write songs. She began to record for various independent music projects, and co-produced a children’s recording titled, “African Folksongs for Children” for her father’s pioneering educational multi-media company, “Spoken Arts, Inc.” She went on to produce her first professional demo of her original pop songs, “Jubilation”, which received a glowing review in Keyboard Magazine.
After returning to New York, Rosine spent the next two years as a business woman in her father’s firm, “Spoken Arts Inc.” While developing her business skills in the company’s administration and marketing departments, Rosine Katan began her private piano teaching studio. As she discovered a budding interest in Early Childhood Human Development, Rosine realized she couldn’t easily integrate the lives of a business woman and musician. So she stopped working for Spoken Arts, Inc. and decided to train to become an early childhood music educator through the “Musical Munchkins” program (see Early Childhood Music Classes).
On staff with the Westchester County, NY-based early childhood music organization for five years, Rosine taught the innovative program to over 1,000 babies, toddlers, and preschoolers in private group classes and public library programs. Rosine’s training and experience with Musical Munchkins deepened her interest in Human Development, which continues to influence her approach to teaching as a Human Development educator.
After taking a leave of absence from Musical Munchkins, Rosine concentrated more fully on her private piano teaching practice for children and adults. Additionally, Rosine developed her performing career as a pop-jazz pianist/singer/songwriter in the New York metropolitan area. She then released her debut CD, “Liquid Blue”, an 11-song collection of Rosine’s original pop-jazz songs which she produced, performed, and arranged for a 9-piece band.
For the next few years, Rosine performed on the New York club scene, promoting the CD with her band and trio of background vocalists. After relocating to Northern Westchester, NY Rosine opened up a new piano teaching studio, resumed teaching with Musical Munchkins, and began production on her soon-to-be released intimate sophomore CD, “Blue Gem in the Raw”.
In 2008, a diagnosis of heavy metal and petrochemical exposure required Rosine to take an extended sabbatical from performing and recording. The long process of recovering her health has awakened Rosine’s awareness to environmental toxicity as one of the major causes of illness in the 21st century. Rosine hopes her healing process can be of benefit to many people.
