Kathy Buys

Born in Los Altos, California, Kathy began study violin and piano via the Suzuki method, and sang in children's choirs. From age 5 to 18, Kathy studied classical music and played with local orchestras like the Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra. She won first place in a state competition and had the honor of playing under such fantastic conductors as Michael Tilson Thomas and Jahja Ling.

Her interest in music therapy and violin performance lead her to the University of the Pacific Conservatory of Music where she played in the Stockton Symphony. After college, she moved to the East Coast, and worked by day in psychiatric hospitals – by night in the pit orchestras for Gilbert and Sullivan shows.

Back in California, Kathy got her Masters in counseling psychology. She saw an ad for a rock band looking for a cellist. True to her renegade spirit, Buys called the band's leader and said, "would you consider a violin instead?" Thus began her career outside the classical scene with a band called SandPit.

Kathy supplements her career as a psychotherapist with the fiddle. After a workshop with Martin Hayes, she fell madly in love with traditional Irish music, and for the past 10 years, studied Irish trad, with multiple trips to a number of music schools in Ireland. She was a medal winner in the 2007 Comhaltas national competition, and has performed on fiddle throughout Ireland and America. In 2009 she finally took a sabbatical from psychotherapy, and went to Ennis, Co. Clare. Living in one of Ireland's musical capitals only deepened her love for the art form.

Kathy loves the fusion of music from around the world. For a time, she played with the energetic world fusion dance band, "The Druid Sisters Tea Party," and in 2010, she worked with Ugandan musicians for a performance at The Bayimba International Arts Festival. When not on the road with Tempest, Kathy works as a holistic psychotherapist and shamanic practitioner in private practice, and is a supervisor at The Child Therapy Institute.

Discography

SONGS FROM THE PINK CARPET, Sandpit (2000)
NIGHT OF THE POET, Anthony Nestor (2002)
MAPLESS JOURNEY, Kathy Buys (2003)
GYPSY LOVE CARAVAN, Druid Sisters Tea Party (2007)
MOON JUJU, Druid Sisters Tea Party (2010)