From Walters State to London — and Back Home Again
August 17, 2026
Kari Novilla has performed in some remarkable places.
There was Wigmore Hall in London. The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. The Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. She studied at one of the world's leading conservatories and has performed with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Lyric Opera of Chicago Orchestra.
Now, her career has brought her somewhere particularly meaningful: home.
Novilla, a former Walters State student, has returned to East Tennessee to serve as principal harp with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra as part of a one-year position.
"It really does feel like a full-circle moment," Novilla said. "This is the community that shaped my love of music in the first place, so coming back to perform professionally here means everything."
Her path to the Knoxville Symphony stretched far beyond East Tennessee.
After Walters State, Novilla earned a Bachelor of Music in Harp Performance from Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music, graduating summa cum laude. She then crossed the Atlantic to study at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she earned a Master of Music in Harp Performance with distinction.
Along the way, she built a career that includes orchestral performances, solo concerts, international appearances, and recognition as a 2024 Tennessee Individual Artist Fellowship winner.
But Novilla still points to Walters State as an important part of the foundation.
"The coursework and schedule helped create discipline and grounding I needed before stepping into a bigger program," she said. "But honestly, it was the people and friends who made the biggest difference."
That connection to Walters State is also a family one. Novilla’s mother is an instructor in the Occupational Therapy Assistant program at the college’s Greeneville/Greene County Campus.
She particularly remembers professors Laura Ritter and Dr. Jerry Wilhoit, who encouraged her to pursue excellence while finding joy in the work, a lesson she carried through Indiana University, London and the stages that followed.
Her advice to today's Walters State students is fitting for someone whose own path has taken her around the world and back home again.
"If it scares you, it's worth doing," Novilla said. "If it's what you love, commit to it fully and let that fear be a sign you're doing something meaningful."