Katie Zheng, a native of western Kentucky, began her drum corps career with Music City Drum and Bugle Corps in 2016. She continued her marching journey as a cast member of the 2018 and 2019 Santa Clara Vanguard before aging out with the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps. In addition to her drum corps experience, Katie has performed with a variety of indoor marching arts ensembles, including scholastic winterguard and independent indoor winds. Her movement and marching expertise are rooted in her background in classical ballet training, as well as modern, lyrical, and tap dance styles.
An alumna of Murray State University, Katie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music. She has been involved with many high school band programs throughout western Kentucky as a music and visual instructor, choreographer, and visual consultant, in addition to working with a range of DCI finalist drum corps, including Troopers Drum and Bugle Corps from 2022 to 2024, where she specialized in teaching marching and movement, and the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps from 2025 to present as a visual instructor.

Katie has served as the Visual Caption Head for the Fishers High School Bands, a premier program in northeastern Indianapolis and a two-time BOA Grand National Finalist since 2023. In this role, she teaches dance technique, marching fundamentals, drill, and choreography to the winds and battery. She also contributes her expertise to Fishers Indoor Percussion, Indiana Percussion Association State Champions and WGI Silver Medalists in Scholastic Open Class in 2024 and 2025, where she choreographs for the visual ensemble and teaches battery visual.

On the independent side, Katie started working as a visual instructor, primarily with the visual ensemble at Rhythm X Percussion in 2025. Katie also serves as the Visual Caption Head for her third season with Elevate Winds, an independent indoor winds ensemble under Elevate Performing Arts in Indianapolis, IN.