Bio of Kevin Kirk

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What Is The Nature Of Your Emergency?
 

Kevin Kirk

Kevin Kirk creates music that expresses his consistent wonder at the boundless potential of music and his life-long dedication to artistic growth and the joyful communication of his discoveries with his audience. Whether performing his original compositions or offering fresh interpretations of jazz and popular standards, and whether collaborating with colleagues from a broad range of traditions or playing solo piano, Kevin continues to explore and expand musical frontiers.

Currently, Kevin performs in a variety of ensembles. Foremost among them is his highly creative and acclaimed group, Kevin Kirk and Onomatopoeia. With this band Kevin brought together master players from jazz, classical, rock, Brazilian, and Celtic musical backgrounds who collaboratively deliver a totally unique and energetic sound that explodes from the concert stage and inspires listeners through their multiple CD recordings. Idaho Public Television produced an award winning TV special capturing one of their live concerts, which, by popular demand is aired regularly throughout the USA and abroad. Check it out here.  Their production highlights Kirk’s dedication to the inclusion of the broader musical community in his work by featuring the Treasure Valley Youth Symphony, composed of promising young artists who welcomed the opportunity to broaden their horizons by participating in Onomatopoeia’s more experimental approach.

Kevin values the interaction and intimacy that is possible with audiences in the club setting and therefore maintains a regular performance schedule in several jazz rooms. He is particularly proud of his recent involvement in the planning and completion of a world class performance venue. Where he not only performed but also curated a daily jazz program featuring diverse talents from both around the corner and around the globe.

Kirk and his various ensembles have been regular headliners on the concert stage at music festivals including the Outlaw Field Summer Concert Series, the Mammoth Jazz Jubilee, the Gene Harris Jazz Festival, the Sun Valley Jazz Jamboree, and the Wallowa Lake Festival of Music. They have shared the stage with Leo Kottke, Keiko Matsui, Eric Marienthal, the Persuasions, Art Garfunkel, and Scott Cossu, to name a few.

The recording studio is a second home to Kirk. He is an eager student of its creative potential and challenges himself to master the most cutting edge technology and harvest its immense possibilities. He is currently in production of his fifth CD with Onomatopoeia. Besides CDs, his studio work involves composing television soundtracks. His most ambitious venture in this arena was 13 hours of soundtrack for the Idaho Public Television series, Proceeding on through a Beautiful Country, which commemorated Idaho’s centennial celebration.

A humanitarian artist, Kevin was creatively involved in the opening of the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Center, and he has organized and performed numerous benefit concerts to aid the Idaho Foodbank, the American Red Cross, and organizations combating juvenile diabetes and cancer in children. He has also organized events such as The Day Boise Ate the World, which celebrate cultural diversity and inclusion.

Kevin Kirk was born in Colorado, raised in Idaho and spent his teenage years on the Oregon coast. The visual magnificence and untamed exuberance of America’s Northwest inhabit his music. After attending college on the east coast, he remained there for six years performing in prestigious rooms like the Four Seasons in Georgetown, the Atrium in Alexandria and the King of France in Annapolis. His mother was a classical pianist and flute player, and his father, a jazz and theater enthusiast, introduced Kevin to the jazz masters. Kevin and his wife have chosen to live and work in Idaho, where they raised their two children.

 

 

 
 
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