Kevin M. Walczyk

Portland OR native Kevin M. Walczyk received the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of North Texas where he received the Hexter Prize for outstanding graduate student and served as arranger for the renowned University of North Texas One O’clock Lab Band. Walczyk’s works have been commissioned and/or recorded by organizations that include the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, Oregon Symphony, Kiev Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Vancouver Symphony, Ukraine National Symphony, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble, Portland Youth Philharmonic, and consortium-commissioning projects comprising over 60 university and conservatory wind ensembles. His works have been performed throughout the world and at new music festivals in the United States, Holland, Belgium, Italy, Russia, Ukraine, Taiwan, Japan, and Peru. His works are recorded on labels by Naxos, Albany Records, CRI, ERMMedia, Master Musicians’ Recordings, Innova, GIA, Klavier, Summit, Navona Records, and AYA.

Nominated for the 2011 Pulitzer Prize in music and the 2012 Grawemeyer Award, Walczyk’s honors include the 2012 Sackler Composition Prize, Chamber Orchestra Kremlin’s International Blitz competition, Pittsburgh New Music Ensemble’s Harvey Gaul Prize, National Band Association’s William D. Revelli Composition Award, and the Big East Conference Band Director’s Association Composition Contest. Walczyk’s works have been juried and selected for participation by the BGSU Mid-American Center for Contemporary Music Festival, Ernest Bloch Composers Symposium, College Band Directors National Association, American Bandmasters Association, World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles, Midwest Clinic, Taiwan Clinic, South-eastern League of Composers, College Music Society, and the Society of Composers, Inc.

Walczyk has served as Professor of composition studies at Western Oregon University since 1995. His students have garnered awards that include the BMI Student Composers Awards, the Oregon Symphony Conti-Connection Composition Competition, the Oregon Symphony Creative Kids Composition Competition, and the International Association of Jazz Educators Gil Evans Jazz Composition Fellowship. He has served multiple guest-composer residencies, including those with the Oregon Symphony, Portland Youth Philharmonic, Indiana University, University of Oklahoma, University of South Carolina, University of North Texas, Northwestern University, University of Connecticut, Oregon State University, Washington State University, University of Kansas, and Tokyo’s Musashino Academia Musicae.