Music Professional

Kassandra Ferrero, better known as Kassie, began her musical studies at the age of five on piano, nine on cello, and 10 on double bass. She performs regularly as an orchestral and chamber musician, exploring all genres of music and performance settings.

Kassie is currently Assistant Principal Bass with the Missouri Symphony and regularly performs with the Kansas City Symphony, Music Theater Heritage, Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, and Symphony of Northwest Arkansas. 

Kassie is a founding member of Infused Sound Healing (guided meditation and live sound bath experience), Mind on Fire (a contemporary modular ensemble in Baltimore, MD), and Jo and Kass (a genre-bending duo consisting of violin and bass).

She has also previously held positions in the York Symphony Orchestra, Springfield Symphony Orchestra, Topeka Symphony Orchestra, and Endless Mountain Music Festival. In addition, Kassie has also appeared with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (performing in their 2016 Handel Messiah recording), Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Maryland Symphony Orchestra, Arkansas Philharmonic Orchestra, Des Moines Symphony Orchestra, Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, and Lancaster Symphony Orchestra. 

Alongside her colleagues, Kassie has premiered many new works by emerging and established composers from across the United States. While her training was in the classical style, she also regularly performs musicals, R&B, hip-hop, pop, avant-garde, and any other setting that requires a bass. 

As an educator, Kassie has an active private studio in Kansas City, working with students of all ages and experience levels. In addition, she is frequently invited as a guest clinician and adjudicator throughout the state of Missouri. She has previously held teaching positions at Northwest Missouri State University, Harmony Project Kansas City, Waldorf School of Baltimore, and Bridges Music Baltimore.

Kassie received her Bachelor of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music, studying with Jeremy McCoy, and her Master of Music degree from the Peabody Conservatory, where she worked closely with Ira Gold. She is also an alumna of the Brevard Music Center Orchestras, Chautauqua Institution Music School Festival Orchestra, and the National Repertory Orchestra, where she was awarded the Shaw Breast Cancer and Cancer Center Chair.

In her free time, she enjoys cooking, traveling, and spending time with her husband and their “farmily”, two cats and a dog.