Kate Stone, the handpan’s female icon

Have you recently listened to one of the compositions by the wonderful musician Kate Stone? Are you wondering how this artist broke onto the international handpan scene? What are her best tracks? What instruments does she play?

Having met Kate Stone in 2016, when she was just starting out, I still keep up with this talented instrumentalist’s latest news, such as the concerts she gives and the handpan workshops she offers in Germany. That way, I can share it all with you here, along with a recap of this percussionist’s journey.

After reading these few lines, you will learn:

• Kate Stone’s biography
• This artist’s most popular songs

This will help you feel closer to her, with a clear picture of her musical career and what she currently offers to help you refine your hang drum skills.

Let’s now take a look at the highlights of Kate Stone’s life.

What is the biography of musician Kate Stone?

Before 2016 and her presence on social media, very little was known about Kate Stone’s path to where she is today. What we do know is that she’s a German musician born on January 29 who started on piano before discovering the handpan and devoting herself fully to it. She was especially captivated by how it blends melody and percussion. Before becoming a recognized artist, Kate Stone studied medicine and worked as a doctor for a time at Berlin’s neurological clinic. But she quickly realized that path wasn’t for her and committed herself fully to music.

Saying she wanted to “treat symptoms instead of causes and cases instead of individuals,” Kate Stone, alongside the handpan, also became a teacher of Wutao, a discipline created in 2000 by French founders Imanou Risselard and Pol Charoy. It’s a contemporary movement-based body art meant to “awaken the soul of the body.” Through music and Wutao, Kate says she builds connections—between people, with oneself, and with life—something she couldn’t fully achieve in her day-to-day work in neurological medicine.

Since 2016, Kate Stone has performed in many places, such as the GRIASDI festival in Austria and the Singapore Drum Fest in Singapore. She also performs in Germany, sometimes busking in the street, as well as in Iceland, Morocco, France, and even across parts of Latin America from 2017 onward, including Chile, Peru, and Bolivia. In 2018, Kate Stone welcomed a dog named Bella, and her international travel slowed considerably. Since then, she has stepped back from concerts and festivals.

However, she now offers two-day handpan workshops in the town of Süßen, Germany. Several workshop options are available, including sessions for beginners, advanced players, or musicians looking to improve their composition techniques. Special one-day events are also occasionally organized. These combine handpan practice with relaxation-focused bodywork and music therapy. Participation in these workshops or events costs between $300 and $400.

As for the instruments used by Kate Stone, she exclusively plays handpans from the German brand Opsilon Handpan, which offers models ranging from $1,500 to $5,000. It appears that Kate Stone has a commercial partnership with this company, as she offers her handpan workshops at their address in the town of Süßen and also sells her CDs and albums, notably “Urban” and “Empty Space,” for around $15. You’ll also spot Kate regularly performing as a duo with Rafael Sotomayor, a Chilean musician who owns Opsilon Handpan. On top of that, she frequently appears in videos testing the latest instruments Opsilon releases, underscoring the close partnership between brand and artist.

What are this hang drum player’s most famous songs?

Kate first gained recognition through her song Urban, first posted on YouTube in March 2017, which has racked up over 2 million views. A music video filmed in Berlin, Germany, was then released in August 2020. The video was produced by TAOF Records, a label owned by Rafael Sotomayor, further highlighting the connection between these two artists. A second track, called Uyuni, also left a strong impression on listeners in March 2018. It has almost 1 million views at the time of writing. You can listen to Urban along with its 2020 music video below:

Compose beautiful melodies with a high-quality handpan, just like artist Kate Stone

Kate Stone is one of the few women recognized as a professional Hang player. Her creativity and compositions bring a breath of fresh air to someone who was once headed toward a completely different future in medicine. Thanks to the information you’ve read in my article, I hope you found everything you were looking for about this renowned musician.

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In France, how can we not mention David Charrier, one of the best handpan players in the country? He developed and promoted the Master The Handpan platform, which allows anyone to learn this musical instrument through online videos.