Mollie Pate has served as the principal hornist of the Louisiana Philharmonic since 1996. She received her Bachelor's degree in Music Performance in 1993 from Lamar University, Beaumont, TX and her Master's and Graduate Diploma degrees from the New England Conservatory of Music in 1995, 1996, where she studied with Jay Wadenpfuhl, third horn, Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Mollie's musical career has taken her all over the country and much of Europe. She has performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Houston Grand Opera, Phoenix Symphony, Nashville Symphony, and Pacific Symphony, where she joined them on their European Tour to Germany, Austria and Switzerland. She has been the lead studio horn player in Nashville, and has also done some recording in the Los Angeles area. Ms. Pate frequently tours with the Burning River Brass based out of Cleveland, OH. This group is one of the premier brass ensembles in the country and has been featured on many concert series, including one at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
 

The past eleven summers she has held the principal horn position with the Pageant of the Masters, Festival of the Arts Orchestra in Laguna Beach, CA and has participated in numerous other festivals including the Tanglewood Institute, National Repertory Orchestra, and the Spoleto Music Festivals in both Charleston, SC and Spoleto, Italy.

Mollie’s hobbies include CrossFit and Triathlons. In September 2009, Ms. Pate placed 12th at the Sprint Triathlon World Championships in Australia. Most recently, she placed 6th overall at the South Central Texas CrossFit Games in March and in May 2010, she and a partner opened their own CrossFit facility,
CrossFit NOLA, which is the very first affiliate in New Orleans.