Our Mission
Musica Vitae is a culture-changing initiative affirming the beauty and value of human life through elegant, high-quality classical chamber music performances.
We believe that a culture of life is inherently artistic.
To this end, our primary mission is to collaborate with pro-life advocates and pregnancy resource centers, raise awareness of their services and inspire individuals to help mothers in need in their communities.
History
Founded in 2023, Musica Vitae (“The Music of Life”) is an ensemble of young professional musicians that seeks to combine their love for the preborn and their artistic talents in a unique and inspiring way.
The ensemble began as the initiative of four violinists studying at Indiana University’s prestigious Jacobs School of Music. Providence brought them together while working in their local Students for Life of America chapter and they saw their connection as an opportunity to lift up their local pro-life community through beauty, joy, music, and fellowship.
Since their conception, Musica Vitae has supported three pro-life organizations and raised over $11,000. After the resounding success of their first performance for the Bloomington Women’s Care Center, they have received requests to partner with other pro-life organizations and are already planning two upcoming performances for the 2025 season.
Musica Vitae’s unique model focuses on maintaining high-quality programming while connecting meaningfully with listeners before, during, and after the performance. They are particularly noted for their joy, enthusiasm, and humor. Additionally, the group’s members take the dual role of professional musician and artistic activist seriously. Their commitment has brought other musicians directly into the pro-life movement, igniting a shared passion for women, children, and a culture of life renewed through beauty.
Artists
Catherine Woods
Executive Director
Catherine Woods is the Executive Director and co-founder of Musica Vitae. Having begun violin at age four, she is now a senior at IU Jacobs School of Music, studying Violin Performance with award-winning pedagogue Dr. Brenda Brenner. Her past teachers include Carl Johnston, Karl Linden, and former Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra concertmaster Frank Almond. In 2020, she won the Northwest Indiana Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. In 2022, she performed a featured solo recital on 98.7 WFMT’s Introductions, a program featuring Chicagoland’s talented pre-college musicians.
While at Jacobs, Catherine has continued pursuing opportunities as a performer and teacher. She served as student president of the IU chapter of American String Teachers Association and teaches with the Fairview Violin Project, an initiative providing free violin instruction for students at Fairview Elementary School. She has also taught at Hammond Montessori Children’s School, Plum Grove Music, and through her own home studio.
Catherine co-founded Musica Vitae with Daniella Lombardi in 2024 to combine life-long loves for classical chamber music and pro-life ministry. Additionally, she was a 2024-25 Students for Life Hildegard Arts Fellow and has been co-president of Students for Life at Indiana University since 2023. During her leadership, SFL at IU was recognized as the 2025 SFL National College Group of the Year.
After graduation, Catherine looks forward to marrying her fiancé, Joseph, and continuing pro-life ministry and music in South Bend, Indiana.
Daniella Lombardi
Artistic Director
Based in Austin, TX, Daniella Lombardi is a classical violinist with a passion for chamber music and a deep love for the pre-born. She is a co-founder of Musica Vitae and serves as its Artistic Director. Daniella graduated from Indiana University, Jacobs School of Music in 2025, with a Master of Music in Violin Performance, studying under the tutelage of Austin Hartman, violinist of the distinguished Pacifica Quartet.
Daniella has received awards in both chamber music and solo competitions, notably TMTA’s Leondar Chamber Music Competition and the Waco Symphony Youth Orchestra Concerto Competition. She has performed at festivals throughout the U.S. and Europe, including the Zenon Brzewski International Music Courses, New York University Summer Strings, and Baylor University’s Quartet Festival and has studied with noted pedagogues, among others, Gregory Fulkerson, Eka Gogichashvili, Konstanty Kulka, Kevork Mardirossian and Ingrid Matthews.
One of Daniella’s areas of special interest is Baroque music and in her capacity as a Baroque violinist she has performed at the 2024 Early Music America Festival and has been a featured soloist in a performance of Vivaldi’s Concerto for 4 Violins in E Minor, presented by the IU Baroque Orchestra.
Apart from her enjoyment of performance, Daniella is also a dedicated pedagogue. She has served as an associate instructor of Music Theory at Indiana University and was the Vice President of her school’s American String Teachers Association Chapter.
Daniella is very passionate about her involvement in the pro-life cause and is the recipient of the 2024-25 “Standing with You” Fellowship with Students for Life of America, through which she worked to improve supportive services for pregnant mothers and their families. Since co-founding Musica Vitae, she has presented fundraising concerts for the Women’s Care Center in Bloomington, IN and the Great Lakes Gabriel Project and hopes to continue this vital work for the pro-life movement.
Leadership Team
Maria Thomas
Director of Marketing
Maria is a marketing student at the Kelley Sschool of Business who is committed to connecting her community to the good, true, and beautiful. In addition to serving Musica Vitae as Director of Marketing, she showcases on-the-ground pro-life activism through digital content as Communications Intern for the non-profit, Voices for Life. Her favorite form of advocacy is door-knocking to raise awareness of local pregnancy resource centers in her capacity as the leader of Bloomington’s Abortion Free Cities campaign.
Ben Ice
Board Chair
Benjamin Ice grew up in Westfield, Indiana and is a Cyber Security professional. In high school, Ben used to be pro-choice, but after learning about Students for Life and seeing a clip they posted on social media from the Unplanned Movie, he became pro-life and started a Students for Life Club at his school.
Since then, Ben has served as a Students for Life Action Captain and an SFLA Thaddeus Stevens Fellow. Ben also spent two years working part-time for Students for Life as the Indianapolis Abortion Free Cities Community Organizer before serving two years full time as the Great Lakes regional coordinator for Students For Life.
Ben currently resides in Indianapolis, Indiana and serves as Musica Vitae’s Board Chair, volunteers with Voices for Life, and enjoys volunteering with a local high school youth group.
John Depinet
Director of Development
John Depinet is a senior studying Organ Performance at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He currently serves as the Organ Scholar at Our Lord Christ the King Catholic Church in Cincinnati, and in 2022-2023 was a member of the Choir of the Cincinnati Oratory at Old St. Mary’s Catholic Church.
A leader in the pro-life movement, John has been the Co-President of the University of Cincinnati Students for Life club since Fall 2023. He has experience with door-to-door canvassing, sidewalk advocacy outside abortion facilities, on-campus tabling outreach, and advanced pro-life apologetics. Additionally, he is currently in the National Leaders Collective, a student leadership initiative through Students for Life of America which involves completing a series of projects on campus and in the community. Upon graduation, Depinet intends to pursue graduate organ studies and continue working to abolish abortion on college campuses.
Joseph Patus
Director of Finance
Joseph is a recent graduate of Indiana University, where he earned a B.S. in Computer Engineering. He currently works as an automation repair engineer in Mishawaka, IN. While at school, Joseph became very involved with the Catholic student community, where he took part in regular service opportunities and leadership roles, including the St. Vincent de Paul Society, Knights of Columbus, and IU Thomistic Institute, where he served as Vice President of Event Planning. He was also an active member of the Students for Life chapter on his campus, participating in tabling, fundraising events, and the National Pro-Life March. He is dedicated to supporting life at every stage, especially through his work at Musica Vitae.
Past Collaborators
George Young (2025)
From Marietta, Georgia, George Young is a junior studying Viola Performance with Professor Stephen Wyrczynski at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. His past teachers include Cindy Beard, principal violist of the Johns Creek Orchestra in Metro-Atlanta, and Li Kuo Chang, former acting principal of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
In 2023, George was the principal violist of both the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra and the Emory Youth Symphony Orchestra, and he accepted his fifth invitation to the Georgia All-State Orchestra, also as principal violist. Since 2022, George has performed each summer at the Credo Music Festival, a faith-based orchestral program that seeks to guide young musicians as they develop their gifts, acknowledge the source of their talents, and respond to that recognition with service in and around their communities. During his studies at Jacobs, George has explored and expanded his love for chamber music, participating in eight different chamber groups since his first semester on campus, and was recently appointed principal violist of the Concert Orchestra at IU.
George is the grateful recipient of the Neal Gilliatt Scholarship as a member of the Wells Scholars Program at IU. In addition to his musical pursuits, George is a member of a Bible study through CRU, an on-campus community passionate about connecting students with Christ; he enjoys cycling and playing basketball on the weekends; and he loves to read.
Adam Kremer (2025)
Adam Kremer is a 20 year old cellist hailing from Charleston, South Carolina. He is currently pursuing his bachelor’s degree with Professor Eric Kim at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. Recently, Adam has been a sponsored participant of the Bowdoin International Music Festival, and has previously attended festivals such as the Vivace String Program and Green Mountain Chamber Music Festival.
Adam has appeared as a soloist on stage with the Charleston Symphony Orchestra, Charleston Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Charleston County School of the Arts Symphony Orchestra. He appeared as a finalist in the 2024 Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra Youth Concerto Competition, and won the top scholarship prize from the Charleston Music Club Scholarship Competition.
Since beginning his studies on the cello from the age of four, Adam has always had a passion for chamber music. He has been coached by members of the Emerson String Quartet, Jupiter String Quartet, and Pacifica String Quartet. He particularly enjoys playing chamber music with his family, who like him, are Catholic, classically trained musicians.
Greta Hodes (2025)
Greta Hodes is a sophomore at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, studying Harp Performance under the instruction of Elzbieta Szmyt, while also majoring in Mathematics. Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, she began studying traditional Celtic harp with Eileen Gannon at age 8. In 2018 and 2019, she was the Midwest champion in Under-12 Celtic harp, going on to place third internationally in 2019 at the Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann in Drogheda, Ireland.
Soon thereafter, Greta turned to the classical harp in the studio of Megan Stout and then continued her studies under Joan Holland. In high school, Greta played in St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra for three years, performed with the St. Louis Philharmonic Orchestra and the St. Louis Civic Orchestra, and held the Principal harp position with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra and the World Youth Wind Symphony at Interlochen Arts Camp.
Since coming to college, Greta has been Principal harp with the IU Wind Ensemble and performed with the Taneycomo Festival Orchestra in Branson, Missouri. In May 2025, she won first prize in the Intermediate II Division of the American Harp Society National Competition in Los Angeles, California.
Katharine Nelson (2025)
Katharine Nelson, is an undergraduate student majoring in Violin Performance at Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University where she studies with Simin Ganatra, violinist of the world-renowned Pacifica Quartet. For four years prior to Indiana University, Katharine studied with Almita Vamos and Davis King at the Music Institute of Chicago’s Academy as a Scholarship Fellow.
Katharine began playing the violin at age 6 through a local Suzuki program, Homewood-Flossmoor Suzuki Strings, with teacher Suzanne Brookes Rickman. She continues to perform at various cathedrals, churches, schools, and charitable events. In January 2020 she organized a classical music concert that raised $3,154 for the regional homeless shelter, PADS and continues to host benefit concerts for various organizations. In 2023, she was a finalist in Indiana University Jacobs School of Music Mendelssohn Violin Concerto Competition.
Katharine has enjoyed summer music institutes at Chautauqua Music Festival, Bowdoin International Music Festival, Indiana University, the University of Michigan. She has taken master classes with Sirena Huang, Jorja Fleezanis, Stephanie Arado, Nurit Pacht, Vadim Gluzman, Mikhail Kopelman, Lina Bahn, and both the Cavani and Verona String Quartets. This summer, Katharine will participate in the Colorado Summer Festival in Colorado Springs. Katharine will attend CU Boulder College of Music in fall 2025 and will get her Master’s in Violin Performance under Harumi Rhodes and Edward Dusinberre.
Naomi Bernstein (2025)
Naomi Bernstein is a freshman at the Jacobs School of Music, studying for her Bachelor of Music in Organ Performance under the instruction of Dr. Christopher Young. Originally from Seattle, Washington, Naomi began playing piano at age seven, studying with Laura Ouimette, international performing artist and founder of Cascade Piano Studio.
While in middle school, Naomi participated in the Piano Solo and Theory divisions of the National Federation of Music Clubs Piano Festival, where she earned a junior participants’ gold cup in recognition of her musical growth and abilities. She also performed for the Seattle Music Teachers Association’s Music Artistry Program, earning an SMTA Musical Excellence Award.
In 2019, Naomi attended the Seattle Chapter of the American Guild of Organists’ Pipe Organ Encounter, a program designed to introduce young musicians to the organ. After falling in love with the instrument and the community, Naomi began private lessons with Susanna Valleau, an active recitalist, church musician, and collaborative performer. In high school, she continued her musical growth through masterclasses and performances, including performing at a benefit concert for local nonprofit Camp United We Stand in 2023. This summer, she will continue to develop her musical and professional skills as Summer Music Intern at Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle.