Google the phrase “Music Is My Life”, and a myriad of citations pop up including the title of a 1972 Billy Preston, a 2015 documentary, and a current podcast from Berklee Online. But bat that phrase around at a get-together of Singletree neighbors and the conversation inevitably gets around to one name: Kathy Morrow. Kathy’s life in music is the story of a commitment to every facet of the music business from performance to instruction to variety, and currently, to giving back to our community.

 

Kathy’s artistic journey began while she was growing up in Lincoln, Nebraska. She began to play the piano at the age of five. At the time, she was surrounded by piano players in her home and even her neighborhood. Her mother was an accomplished player, as was an older sister and a neighbor whom she admired. She eventually matriculated to the University of Nebraska where she majored in theater arts and harbored the dream of becoming a star of musical theater on Broadway after graduating in 1981.  

 

Like so many aspiring artists, her life after college became more of a nomadic musical existence than a sedentary residency of musical permanence. She began performing at various venues in the Midwest from Detroit to Minneapolis. Usually, these venues were piano bars in varying degrees of refinement. It may not have been Broadway, but, hey, it was a living. It was during this period that she got her first gig in the Valley in 1984, at what was then the Vail Athletic Club, and met the soon to be legendary Mickey Poage.

 

At this point in our story, it’s time to rewind the tape a bit.

 

While in high school, Kathy made her first trip to Vail in the winter of 1969. Her uncle had a condo in the Lodge at Vail, and she stayed there with him and his five sons. She caught the skiing bug and began a lifelong love of the sport - eventually joining the ski club at her high school.

 

OK, back to the thread and another major influence on the arc of Kathy’s journey: the film starring Christopher Reeve and Jane Seymour, Somewhere in Time. It’s the story of a playwright (Reeve) at the Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island, Michigan, who becomes obsessed with the photograph of a young actress (Seymour). Through self-hypnosis, he transports himself back to 1912 to find his obsession. The film continues from there, but it was the Hotel and its piano bar that really drew Kathy. She eventually found her way to the Grand Hotel where she secured a seat at the piano bar on the hotel’s golf course.  

 

It was during her tenure at the Grand Hotel that she met a talent agent who offered her a chance to take her talents to Europe and the rest of the world. Kathy grabbed the chance, and in 1989, she went to Sweden for a four-month gig that ended up being just the beginning of an eight-year journey throughout Europe. Along the way, she also played a gig at the Ritz Carlton in Hong Kong. When she returned to the Valley from her foreign adventure, her first job was opening the Ritz in Bachelor Gulch with her jazz trio.

 

It was during this period that Kathy bought a townhome in the Valley. She renewed her musical friendship with Mickey Poage, although she also played solo around town - including at Club Chelsea and Larkspur as well as Splendido at The Chateau in Beaver Creek. This is when her residency became permanent and she committed herself full time to the community she had loved for so many years. In 2008, Kathy joined with two other singers, Beth Swearingen and Charis Patterson, and formed the Fabulous Femmes. They began their own unique form of musical entertainment and still perform to the delight of audiences throughout the Valley.

 

She had begun singing with local jazz legend, Tony Gulizia, and his brother, Joey, a drummer. Tony had just started working with what became his signature legacy, the Jazz Goes to School program, which brought music with an emphasis on that uniquiely American genre, jazz, to third and fourth graders at no charge to either the students or the Eagle County School District.

 

Tragically, in 2022, Tony passed away suddenly, but Kathy’s work with the program continued.  Today she works with drummer Larry Dutmer and sax player Brent Gordon as well as percussionist Rob Labig, bass player Tom Paxon, and trumpeter Connor Williams. Since 2025, they have been working to expand the focus of Jazz Goes to School by using non-traditional jazz tunes to appeal to our kids. This approach converts tunes that the kids are familiar with, such as music from various Disney movies, into a jazz format. This formula has expanded the reach of the program to more kids than ever before. In addition to working with the Valley schools, Kathy also offers private instruction in voice, the piano, ukulele, and guitar. If you want to sample her talents personally, make your way to Stoke and Rye at the Westin any Sunday for their Jazzy Brunch. Kathy will make your mimosa and eggs benedict taste even better.

 

Kathy Morrow’s story is truly fascinating. From a 5-year-old piano student in Nebraska to an accomplished entertainer and Singletree resident, every step of her musical evolution has contributed to our enjoyment and her legacy. She makes our special community even more so and clearly embodies the phrase, “Music Is My Life”.