Bryan Kolk
MIHS Orchestra Director
Bryan Kolk is a music educator, conductor, and bassist from Michigan. He received a Bachelors of Music Education and Masters in Double Bass performance from the University of Michigan. He studied conducting at the Pierre Monteux School, the University of Michigan Wind Conducting Symposium, and the Sherborne Summer School in England. He has directed orchestra programs at Caledonia High School (MI), Troy High School (MI), and most recently Garfield High School in Seattle’s Central District. He is excited to begin directing the Mercer Island Orchestra Program!
Bryan has previously served as Assistant Conductor of the Dearborn Youth Symphony, Everett Youth Symphony, and Bainbridge Island Youth Symphony. During the summers, Bryan conducts the Masterworks Orchestra at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in West Michigan and has been a part of the administration of SYSO’s Marrowstone Music Festival since 2011. In his free time, he loves to go hiking in the Cascades and Olympics with his partner Clarisse and their energetic dog Pepper.
Sarah Hart
IMS Orchestra Director
Sarah Hart started playing the violin at the age of ten in her public school’s fifth grade orchestra program. She was the concertmaster of the Oklahoma All-State orchestra in her senior year of high school, and upon graduation, attended the University of North Texas to pursue a degree in Music Education. After graduation there, Ms. Hart worked teaching beginners through middle school orchestra students in the Bryan/College Station, Texas Independent School Districts.
After several years as an educator, Ms. Hart went back to school to attain a Master’s Degree, this time in English (reading is another of her interests). She attended Texas A&M University, graduated summa cum laude, and then continued teaching in the Houston Independent School District.
After relocating to the Pacific Northwest in 2016, Ms. Hart began teaching in Mercer Island in 2018. Since then she has also worked with Seattle Youth Symphony, Cascades Youth Symphony, the Bellevue, Edmonds, and Northshore School Districts, and has maintained an active private studio.
In her spare time, Ms. Hart enjoys reading, cooking, and hanging out with friends and her family of seven (that’s five kids!) plus one Bernese Mountain Dog.
Caitlin Olive
IMS Orchestra Assistant
Caitlin Olive’s music career began at the age of 2 when she uttered her first full sentence, “I awna pay a biowin!” Equipped with the tiniest violin available, Caitlin started violin lessons. She studied the Suzuki method for 16 years with Mihoko Hirata – one of Dr. Suzuki’s ambassadors to North America. Caitlin also studied piano and voice. Caitlin was a leader in the Mercer Island High School Orchestra and Jazz Choir. She also performed with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestras, Seattle Girls’ Choir, All-State Orchestra, and All-Northwest Orchestra.
In college, Caitlin studied violin performance and improvisation at DePauw University in Indiana. She toured Europe with the DePauw Symphony Orchestra and performed locally in Indiana. Upon returning to the Seattle area in 2003, Caitlin studied Arts Management and worked with several large arts non-profits including Seattle Symphony, Seattle Art Museum, and Experience Music Project.
Currently, Caitlin serves as the Orchestra Assistant for Islander Middle School. She also maintains an active private teaching studio and plays with three local bands! (Merchant Mariner, OLIZAR, and Casting Shadows) In her spare time, she loves cuddling Napoleon (the orange cat), playing music with her husband, and watching 90 Day Fiancé.