Camp Con Brio
String Camp of the Rockies
2025 HIGH SCHOOL FACULTY
KATHERINE GARRAMONE
HIGH SCHOOL CAMP DIRECTOR
Katherine Garramone has been a cellist for twenty years. She has been the Orchestra Director at Parker Performing Arts school in Parker, Colorado since 2020. Katherine discovered her love for music through her own public school orchestra experience in Mapleton Public Schools, with Kelly Benson as her Orchestra Director. While Katherine played the cello in her school orchestra program, and participated in the Front Range Youth Symphony; it soon became not enough for her. She found Camp Con Brio as an Intern, and has never left. Katherine has been with the camp for 10 years, in various roles.
Katherine earned a Bachelor's Degree in Elementary Education with an emphasis in the Performing Arts from the University of Northern Colorado. She earned a Minor in Special Education and Music Education. During her time in college, Katherine had to leave the music school to have surgery on her left arm due to nerve damage. The nerves become too tight in her elbow from over-utilization and long hours of practicing. This made it impossible to play cello and major in music. This would have been the end of her dream of teaching, but she knew her love of music and her love of teaching could not be stifled. Katherine has been teaching for five years and continues to impart her love for music onto her students.
SHAWN MURPHY
ORCHESTRA DIRECTOR
Shawn Murphy is currently in his third year directing orchestras at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado. In January of 2023, Rocky’s full symphony will perform for a clinic with string pedagogue, Scott Laird, at the Colorado Music Educator’s Association Conference (CMEA). The same group was chosen to play in Orlando as part of the American String Teacher’s Association’s National Orchestra Festival in March of 2023. For six years previous, Shawn directed orchestras at Thompson Valley High School and Walt Clark Middle School in Loveland, Colorado, where he was awarded an Inspiring Students Award in his first year and was nominated as Thompson School District teacher of the year. His teaching career began with high school and middle school orchestras in Afton, Wyoming, then moved to Fort Collins where his middle school orchestra program increased from 85 players to over 230 in three years.
Mr. Murphy serves frequently as a guest clinician, adjudicator, and conductor for Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah honor ensembles and performance festivals. He has previously been the High School Orchestra Director and Violin Teacher for Camp Con Brio, is the Northern Colorado Representative for CO-ASTA, has been honored to serve as a member of the Colorado All-State Orchestra board of governors since 2015, and will serve as All-State Orchestra Chair starting in 2023. Along with his Thompson Valley music colleagues, he presented a clinic at the 2018 CMEA Conference.
Shawn holds a BME in Instrumental Music and a Master of Music in Violin Performance from the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley. He was first violin in the Graduate String Quartet at UNC and served as concertmaster of The Loveland Orchestra.
Mr. Murphy spent a year in Germany with his wife, Amy, where they studied German at the Goethe Institute and the Universität Leipzig, and music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig. In August, 2017, they began their parental journey with the birth of Baby Ben, whose supernatural cuteness made the baby sleeplessness more tolerable, and whose little boy insights and observations enrich our days (and sometimes the nights, still)!
RUTH ANN COY
VIOLIN I INSTRUCTOR
Mrs. Ruth Ann Coy has been teaching orchestra in the Colorado public schools for over a decade. She has degrees in violin performance and music education with an emphasis in instrumental music. Currently, she teaches sixth through eighth grade orchestra, full-time, at Drake Middle School where she will have over 200 students in five classes, doubling the string program in the three years she has taught there. Her students perform at events such as Jeffco’s Middle School Art Show. The orchestras she has directed have consistently received superior ratings at Colorado ASTA festival. She has been privileged to serve as a middle school and high school Solo and Ensemble Adjudicator several times in the past ten years. She was awarded Jeffco Talented Teacher in 2023 and was nominated as Teacher of the Year for the Front Range Youth Symphony in 2019 and 2023. Mrs. Coy also had the privilege of presenting at the Colorado State Music Conference in 2023.
Mrs. Coy taught in the Mapleton Public Schools, Adams 1, for five years as a full-time orchestra teacher, teaching strings to fifth through eighth grade students. Because of her love and commitment to music education, student involvement, and the community, she also began the district’s first Honors Orchestra and Mariachi programs. She then taught 5th - 8th grade orchestra at Arvada K8, Fitzmorris, Foster K-8, Hackberry Hill, Lawrence, Peck, Secrest, Swanson, and Thomson Elementary Schools in Jefferson County Public Schools as well as mariachi at Foster K-8.
Aside from her private string studio, Mrs. Coy has always been an active performer in the community. In the last 20 years, she has played with groups including the Jefferson County Symphony Orchestra, Lakewood Symphony Orchestra, Broomfield Chamber Orchestra, and Evergreen Chamber Orchestra. For the last eight years, she has played as a paid first violinist of the Stratus Chamber Orchestra with whom she toured with in Prague, Czech Republic in 2017.
On her free time, she travels with her husband who is a professional photographer. Together, they love to camp, bird watch, snowboard, and spend time with their family and two cats, Pebbles and Goofy Boots.
TBD
VIOLIN II INSTRUCTOR
KYLE RUPLEY
VIOLA INSTRUCTOR
Kyle Rupley is a Colorado-based musician and educator. He has taught in the Cherry Creek Schools at Cherokee Trail High School for nine years and managed his own private teaching studio since age 17. Under his direction, CTHS ensembles regularly earn excellent and superior ratings, and he works to enable all his students to continue and develop life-long engagement and success with music.
Kyle holds undergraduate degrees in viola performance and music education (BM, BME) from Metropolitan State University of Denver and a graduate degree in performance (MM) from the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music. He also completed post-graduate work in conducting and performance at the University of Maryland Baltimore County as a fellowship recipient in the Baltimore Symphony Academy Program.
He performs regularly all along the Front Range with orchestras including the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Stratus Chamber Orchestra, and Chamber Orchestra of the Springs.
COURTNEY DOWLING
CELLO INSTRUCTOR
A Colorado Native, Courtney Dowling grew up in the North Denver suburbs. She began playing cello in the public school systems in Adams 12 School District. While in high school Courtney performed with Front Range Youth Symphony, Colorado Youth Symphony, Colorado Young Sinfonia, and Denver Young Artists Orchestra. During her summers, Courtney went to Rocky Ridge Music Center to combine her love of the mountains with her love of music. In addition to a busy performance schedule, Courtney began teaching cello lessons at the age of 15 and continued to do so until she became a full time school orchestra teacher.
Courtney earned a Bachelors of Music in Cello Performance at Queens College’s Aaron Copland School of Music in New York City and her Suzuki Certification at the University of Denver. As a cellist, she studied with DU’s Richard Slavich, UNC’s Gal Faganel, Colorado Symphony’s Fred Hoeppner, Jacksonville University’s Shannon Lockwood, and Aaron Copland School of Music’s Marcy Rosen. While living in New York City, Courtney performed as principal cello in the Spectrum Symphony. She also performed with the Nova Philharmonic and the Manhattan Symphonie in both Carnegie Hall and the Barge Music Festival.
In addition to orchestral performing, Courtney played in an eclectic folk-rock band, several chamber music groups, and sat in with various artists around the city. She continued to develop her teaching style at Cadenza Music School in Flushing, Queens and at the Harbor School for Boys and Girls Conservatory Program in New York City. It was at this time that Courtney decided her love for teaching music outweighed her love for performing. She decided to return home to her beloved state of Colorado to pursue a teaching degree.
After completing her Masters in Music Education at the University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Courtney was Orchestra Director at Rocky Mountain High School in Fort Collins, Colorado and is currently the Orchestra Director at Silver Creek High School in Longmont. Her groups consistently receive superior ratings at festivals and have been selected to perform at ASTA National Festival and the Colorado Music Education Association 's conference multiple times. Other than her work at school, Courtney enjoys playing with the Longmont Symphony, raising a rambunctious toddler, and going on outdoor adventures with her husband!
JAY MCGUFFIN
STRING BASS INSTRUCTOR
Jay McGuffin is currently the Director of Orchestras at Castle View High School and Castle Rock Middle School. He has taught instrumental music in DCSD since 2002. His primary instrument is String Bass. Mr. McGuffin grew up in Colorado Springs and played his first Castle Rock Middle School. He has taught instrumental music in DCSD since 2002. His primary instrument is String Bass. Mr. McGuffin grew up in Colorado Springs and played his first professional gig at age 13. Performing with the Colorado All-State Jazz Band and becoming the principal bassist of the Colorado All-State Symphony in 1995 officially boosted him as a career bassist. Mr. McGuffin was a member of the Boulder Philharmonic from 1995-1997. He also competed and won first place in the Rocky Mountain International Double Bass Solo Competition in 1999.
Having studied for five years with Paul Erhard and Edward Krolick, he graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2000 with Bachelors degrees in both Music Education (B.M.E) and Music Performance (B.M.). Mr. McGuffin has performed with such musicians as William “Bug” Barbie, Frank Fanelli, Itzhak Perlman, and Dave Grusin. His musical influences are primarily Ray Brown, Paul Chambers, Scott LaFaro and Victor Wooten. He has been a member of the Double McGuffin Jazz Quartet on Bass and Vocals since 2002, performing regularly with his father since 2005 and has been the leader of the group since 2008. Mr. McGuffin has always believed: “Those who can, perform. Those who can do more, teach!”