Kaitlyn Maria Filippini

Music emerges in her life with colors, textures and feelings, adding unique beauty to the large repertoire of concerts, orchestra, music scoring and arrangement of which she has been a part of. From a child diagnosed with several critical immune diseases to a young girl discovering her true calling with the violin, Kaitlyn Maria Filippini is the dazzling new face of the nation’s live music scene and a leader in neuroscience.

“I graduated from UNO in Spring 2011,” Filippini said. “After graduating, I continued my work at Dr. Jeffrey French’s Neuroendocrinology lab at UNO as head lab technician; my UNO degree is in Neuroscience. A few months later, I made the step to focus on my business by doing both music and neuroscience research contracting.”

Filippini has a neurological condition known as synesthesia that causes her to experience sounds as colors and textures. It was the reason she chose to study neuroscience as her academic discipline. Her objective was to "rediscover the function of music" in her life. Today, Filippini thrives in both music and scientific pursuits as she works on several musical and scientific projects with American Gramophone records, including the Ambience Medical project.

The Ambience Medical Project is lead by Manheim Steamroller’s Chip Davis. The project looks at integrating natural recorded sounds such as bird chirpings and streams flowing and playing the recording to patients in hospitals to help relieve stress and anxiety.

“On this project, I did ambient sound research and redesigned their Ambient Therapy System with a couple of talented UNL Graduates Matt Hovanec and Alex Rock," Filippini said. "Now, I am working under a grant at Boys Town National Research hospital’s Auditory Physiology department to research a drug that is thought to aid in deafness. I am also currently working with Berkeley as a synesthesia advisor for their new auditory synesthesia project."

She started her musical career  playing professionally for weddings and concerts but now is focusing on studio work and auditions. Over the years, her wild musical energy has grown to leaps and bounds as she has given her nationally acclaimed performances, while also playing with several local Midwestern bands.

“I had the opportunity to work on commercial music for Redbull, performed with Conor Oberst for a secret show at Krug Park, performed the National Anthem for Championship Game two of the College World Series and have recorded on several albums including Banshee’s “Mindslave” album, and I have released two singles on iTunes produced by Mike Doerr,” Filippini said.

 For listeners, it is sheer pleasure to the senses to experience her playful,  yet refined style. She has also played violin for such local groups as All Young Girls Are Machine Guns, DJ Kobrakyle and the Answer Team, along with musical greats like Rod Stewart, Josh Groban, Mannheim Steamroller, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Michael Buble and Mary J. Blige.

“Over the years, I have been very lucky that my hard work has led to the opportunity to perform on both the local and national stage with artists. These experiences set a standard for my level of musicianship, professionalism and drive,” Filippini said. “The diversity of my experiences has kept me ruthlessly grounded. I’ll always be grateful for my roots in Omaha and the people I have met here.”

Having been raised by the talented musicians of Mannheim Steamroller, it is her astonishing musical prowess and relentless passion for live orchestra which enables her to move among a variety of genres including classical concerts, live rock shows and pulsing electronica.

“I just made a custom five string electric violin from Violectra,” Filippini said. “I will receive it in September from the U.K, and then I will hit the ground running. There are only about 200 in the world, and I have one. Each one is custom, and has the best string pickups I’ve ever heard! It will allow me to literally play dubstep wobble bass on my violin live. It’s going to be great!”

Juggling with ease and passion disciplines as diverse as music and neurology, the vibrant 24-year-old has not only shared the stage with numerous local and national artists and live bands, but has also achieved the distinction of being the Concertmaster of Berkeley College of Music’s classical orchestra. A violin apprentice and an entrepreneur owning her own business ‘Eloquent Acoustics’ at the age of 14, she has recently branched out into more creatively intriguing feats: composing film scores and musical arrangements.

“My goal as both a performer and composer is to continue to build my company into an institution of film scoring, song writing, and research. Through this company, I would like to start a foundation that gives funding to research advocating music education as well as directly to public schools to keep the music alive,” Filippini said.