Kathryn Mientka Farruggia performed internationally to critical acclaim as the pianist in the Mientka Duo, which she and her late husband, Tyme Mientka co-founded in 1983. The Duo gave concerts for 20 years in Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland, and the USA, where they were featured nationally on radio and television, including National Public Radio's Performance Today, and in 1995 they were featured on PBS television in an hour-long documentary, “Almost Famous: the Mientka Duo”, which was submitted by PBS for an Emmy.
Relocating to Colorado, from 1999 to 2004 Kathryn and Tyme founded and directed the Western Slope Concert Series, an after-school music and dance conservatory, a youth orchestra and a youth choir. Kathryn is a founding member, pianist and music arranger in the cross-over Celtic band FEAST, which has toured nationally and was featured on PBS.
Her special crusade is promoting the DS 5.5 narrow-keys keyboard, made by David Steinbuhler especially for small hands. In 2019 she presented a lecture-demonstration on the narrow keyboard at NAU in Flagstaff, for the ASMTA. In 2021 she performed a series of three piano recitals on the DS 5.5 at the Homestake Opera House in Lead, SD. In December 2022, Kathryn and her late husband Charles Farruggia opened “Farruggia’s Music and Supper Club” in Mountain View, Arkansas, offering Italian cuisine followed by a show featuring Kathryn (piano) and Charles (baritone). Kathryn is now living in Grand Junction and teaching music at Colorado Mesa University.