Peter Kolkay, bassoon

First Prize, 2002 Concert Artists Guild International Competition

• Recipient, 2004 Avery Fisher Career Grant
• First Prize, 2001 William C. Byrd Competition

A gifted performer of both extraordinary musicality and virtuosic artistry, bassoonist Peter Kolkay claimed First Prize at the 2002 Concert Artists Guild International Competition and was awarded the prestigious Avery Fisher Career Grant in 2004, the first artist on his instrument to receive both honors. The San Francisco Classical Voice proclaimed his “…star ascendant,” and the New York Sun praised his performance as “extremely moving.”

Featured engagements in the 2007 - 2008 season include the Colonial Symphony (NJ) in a performance of Harold Meltzer’s Likes and Unlikes (a concerto for two bassoons and strings), CAG’s chamber music series at Long Island’s Patchogue Theatre and the Bravo! Vail Valley Music Festival. Mr. Kolkay is a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s CMS II program, with numerous performances at Alice Tully Hall.

Recent highlights include a recital at Lawrence University, his alma mater, featuring the premiere of Judah Adashi’s The Dark Hours (co-commissioned by CAG and the BMI Foundation), a joint performance at New York’s Symphony Space with flutist Christina Jennings on CAG’s New Music at the Thalia series and a return to his home town as guest soloist for a concerto with the DuPage (IL) Symphony Orchestra. Mr. Kolkay has been heard in recital at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall and on Chicago’s Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series. As a chamber musician, he was a featured guest on a national tour wih the ensemble Concertante and has performed at the Savannah Music Festival, La Musica Festival of Sarasota, FL, as well as the Bridgehampton, Cooperstown and Newport Chamber Music Festivals.

The 2005-06 season included the world premiere of Mr. Meltzer’s Likes and Unlikes with the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, which led The San Francisco Classical Voice to write: “His reputation is blossoming at a remarkable rate, perhaps not so surprisingly considering his many virtues. It wasn't merely technical control, but expressive depth that impressed.” Mr. Meltzer’s work, commissioned by CAG and supported by a joint partnership between the Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, the Westchester Philharmonic and the San Francisco Chamber Orchestra, was written to encourage orchestras internationally to feature Peter Kolkay as a guest soloist in collaboration with their principal bassoonists. The New York premiere with the Chamber Orchestra Kremlin was presented by the Brooklyn Friends of Chamber Music, followed by performances with the Westchester Philharmonic.

Mr. Kolkay’s recording of Elliott Carter’s Au Quai was recently released by Bridge Records as part of a critically acclaimed CD of the composer’s chamber music. His performances have been broadcast on National Public Radio’s Performance Today and on New York’s WQXR-FM. He has also appeared on the A & E network’s “Breakfast with the Arts,” hosted by Elliott Forrest, as a result of his Avery Fisher Career Grant.

Peter Kolkay is on the faculty of the University of South Carolina as Assistant Professor of Bassoon. He previously spent four years as Visiting Assistant Professor of Bassoon at West Virginia University. He holds a doctorate from Yale University as a student of Frank Morelli and a master’s degree from the Eastman School of Music, where he studied with John Hunt and Jean Barr. A native of Naperville, Illinois, Mr. Kolkay holds a Bachelor’s degree from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI.