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KATHARINE WHALEN
WOMEN’S ISSUE
Musician and Teacher Assistant, Eno River Academy
Raised in Hendersonville, Katharine moved to Chapel Hill at age 15 with her mom, who enrolled in the graduate program in folklore at UNC. Katharine attended Carolina Friends School and received her early childhood education certification from Durham Tech. She lives in Efland with daughter Cecelia, 16, a student at Cedar Ridge High School, and husband William Dawson, also a musician, who is currently serving as a performing artist in residence at Duke University Hospital.
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Katharine Whalen wakes up at 5:40 a.m.
each morning to start her day at Eno River Academy (formerly Orange Charter School). She works as a teacher assistant for first- and second- graders and also teaches music. “I work with such an amazing group of women,” Katharine says. “We have so much fun.” She first became involved with the school as a parent, when her daughter Cecelia attended. But before she was a mom or a teaching assistant, Katharine was a musician. Known for her role as a founding member of Chapel Hill-based group Squirrel Nut Zippers, she currently performs with Danny Grewen as duo Swedish Wood Patrol. “We’re a folksy, jazzy blend,” she says. They play several times a month, often at venues like Mystery Brewing Public House, The Kraken and Arcana in Durham. As with her past bands, Katharine’s on banjo and provides vocals, though she also plays other four-stringed instruments, like the ukulele. Even after a few decades of performing, she relishes her time onstage, absorbing the positivity of the crowd. “We love to get a lot of fun people together, dancing and laughing. It’s a really good time.” Though professionally she considers herself equal parts classroom assistant and musician, Katharine’s passions don’t end there. She has lived in an old farmhouse in Efland since her early 20s, where she enjoys writing music, painting watercolors and continuing to fix up the house. She is also a runner, an avid home chef and a costume designer for Little Green Pig Theatrical Concern. Her next projects? “I’m writing more songs. And I’m going to paint my bathroom orchid pink.” In everything she does, Katharine stays focused on the positive. “I tell my daughter, ‘Say what you can do, not what you can’t,’” she says. “‘And always be sure to leave room for inspiration.’” –MW April 2017 chapelhillmagazine.com
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