biography

upbringing

As a child of two professional classical musicians, Caitlin grew up in a household where music was in every room, every piece of furniture, every particle of air. As a baby, she would fall asleep listening to her mother, Cynthia Phelps, practicing viola downstairs, and weekly Sunday night dinners were never complete without the rich overtones of Ella Fitzgerald’s velvet voice playing through the speakers in the living room. From a young age, Caitlin was taught to embrace the culture of music as a way of life rather than simply a career, and has approached her relationship with music in this way ever since.

education

At the young age of ten, Caitlin was accepted as a cellist into the precollege program at Manhattan School of Music, and continued her studies for seven years. Though her primary focus at MSM was classical cello, Caitlin also developed a deep passion for songwriting. In 2016, she received a full-tuition scholarship to Berklee College of Music as both a cellist and songwriter, and in May 2019, she earned Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Contemporary Writing and Production and Songwriting with a minor in Musical Theater Writing. In May 2022, Caitlin received her Master’s Degree from NYU Tisch, Graduate Musical Theater Writing Program (GMTWP).

During her time, both at Berklee and NYU, Caitlin has had the opportunity to work with some of the colleges’ most talented faculty across the board, including Steven Lutvak (musical theater songwriting and composition) Mel Marvin (music composition and dance/incidental music) Eugene Friesen (cello studies/world music), Eric Stern (musical direction/conducting), Bill Elliott (composition, arranging and orchestration). She has also had the tremendous pleasure of working under Broadway conductor, pianist and songwriter Kathy Sommer as a composer’s assistant and copyist. In Summer 2020, Caitlin studied musical theater songwriting under Peter Mills (The Hello Girls and Prospect Theater Company).

what’s next?

On the heels of the Dear Evan Hansen tour, Caitlin moved back her cozy abode in Harlem, NYC in July of this year. She is continuing her work as music assistant/copyist for Kathy Sommer’s two new musicals, Long Road Home and A Thing of Beauty, while juggling multiple of her own composition and arranging projects. She is actively performing as a freelance cellist and core member of up-and-coming entertainment company, ARTLEX Entertainment.