Biography:

Michigan native Karlee Kamminga is a horn player in the United States Air Force Heartland of America Band, stationed at Offutt AFB, NE. 

In the USAF Heartland of America Band, Karlee’s primary role is to perform in the Offutt Brass Quintet where she’s toured over 15 states and performed at 2 National Monuments. Collaborating with the Japan Air Self Defense Force Central Band, Karlee has shared the stage with foreign allies and witnessed the universal language of music. Highlights of her solo work include performing Mozart’s Second Horn Concerto with the USAF Heartland of America Band and appearing as a soloist with the Nebraska Wind Symphony.

Beyond the Air Force, Karlee has performed extensively in orchestras across Nebraska, Massachusetts, Michigan, and Montana. She’s a member of NU CORNO horn ensemble where she performs multiple new commissions each year at International Horn Society (IHS) symposiums and workshops. In 2025, Karlee was a regional artist at the Mid-North Horn Workshop where she adjudicated competitions, performed in a solo recital & artists horn choir, and presented a career coaching lecture. The same year, she presented her research again at the International Women’s Brass Conference along with adjudicating the military band excerpt competition. 

An in-demand clinician, Karlee regularly presents masterclasses, recitals, and lectures at universities nationwide. Since 2019, she has maintained a thriving private studio of middle and high school students, many of whom have earned placements in all-state and honors ensembles. In 2023, she was selected by the New England Conservatory (NEC) and Carnegie Hall to present their LinkUp curriculum to multiple K–5 classrooms in Boston. While studying at NEC, she served as a teaching fellow, providing free private lessons to underserved students in Boston Public Schools and El Sistema programs. She currently serves on the All-State adjudicating committee for the Nebraska State Bandmasters Association.

Prior to joining the USAF Heartland of America Band, Karlee worked for the Boston Symphony Orchestra as the Tanglewood Music Center Coordinator where she oversaw all the faculty and guest artists each summer. Her passion for arts admin continues in the Air Force, where she is the social media director for the band as well as a government purchase cardholder, and plans Offutt Brass tours. Additionally, Karlee served on the artistic advisory committee for the International Horn Symposium at James Madison University in 2025. 

Karlee holds a Master of Music degree from the New England Conservatory and a Bachelor of Music degree from Western Michigan University, both in horn performance. Her primary teachers include Rachel Childers, Dr. Lin Foulk Baird, and Dr. Paul Austin. 

Outside of music, Karlee loves to travel the world, read novels, shop for shoes, and being a mom to her precious cat, Felix.