PETER KOLKAY, BASSOONIST

Called “superb” by the Washington Post and “stunningly virtuosic” by the New York Times, Peter Kolkay is the only bassoonist to receive an Avery Fisher Career Grant, and the first bassoonist to win the Concert Artist Guild International Competition. In-demand as a chamber musician, he regularly performs with Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and has appeared in recent seasons at the Music@Menlo, Bridgehampton, Sarasota, and Maverick summer festivals.

 

Kolkay actively engages with composers in the creation of new works for the bassoon; he has commissioned and premiered solo works by Elliott Carter, Joan Tower, Mark-Anthony Turnage, and Tania León, among others. His most recent record, Red Maple (Bridge Records), features music for bassoon and strings by Tower, Turnage, Russell Platt, and Judith Weir performed with the Calidore String Quintet.  Other recent recordings include the Christopher Rouse and Michael Torke bassoon concertos with the Albany Symphony.

 

A dedicated teacher, Mr. Kolkay is Professor of Bassoon at the Vanderbilt University Blair School of Music, where he received the Ellen Gregg Ingalls Award for Excellence in Teaching in 2024, and has offered masterclasses throughout the United States, Mexico, and South Korea. Mr. Kolkay also served as Vice Chair of the Vanderbilt University Faculty Senate and was part of the inaugural class of Vanderbilt Chancellor’s Faculty Fellows. He holds degrees from Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, the Eastman School of Music, and Yale University. A native of Naperville, IL, he now resides in Nashville. Mr. Kolkay plays a Fox 601 bassoon.