Pianist Kurt Eric Galván is active as a performer in his native Connecticut, and his adopted upstate New York. He studied with Neal Larrabee, Minyoung Lee, and Irma Vallecillo at the University of Connecticut (BM, 2009; Performer’s Certificate, 2010; MM, 2012) and subsequently with Jean Barr at the Eastman School of Music (MM, Piano Accompanying and Chamber Music, 2014; DMA, 2018).Kurt performed regularly with both the University of Connecticut’s Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra. Performances included appearances as the soloist in Stravinsky’s Petrushka (2009); Hindemith’s Kammermusik Op. 49 (2010); Schwantner’s …and the mountains rising nowhere (2012); and as the pianist during the premiere of Sheila Silver’s opera The Wooden Sword as part of the Raymond and Beverly Sackler Composition Competition (2010). Performance highlights at Eastman include “Plays Well with Others,” a concert in celebration of the Accompanying Program’s 25th anniversary (2014); André Previn’s Trio for Oboe, Bassoon, and Piano in a concert celebrating the composer’s 80th birthday (2015); guest-composer Steve Reich’s 2013 Quartet with Music Nova in celebration of his recent works (2016); and George Antheil’s Ballet mécanique, in combination with the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg (2018).
Dr. Galván has been a prize-winner in the Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition. He was an active accompanist for Summer@Eastman, where he worked with Neal Varon, William Weinert, Sylvie Beaudette, Chien-Kwan Lin, and Alan Harris. In 2015, Kurt was invited to participate in the Oxford Lieder Festival (UK), where he worked with Roger Vignoles and Imogen Cooper. In the summer of 2017, Kurt performed across Southeast Asia at a variety of venues, including Yamaha Hall in Seoul, Izumi Hall in Tokyo, and the Shanghai Conservatory. Recently, Dr. Galván premiered John Psathas’ Cloud Folk with the Eastman Percussion Ensemble at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in Indianapolis, Indiana (2017). Kurt Galván held adjunct positions at Alfred University in the southern tier of New York, where he taught class piano, private lessons, theory, and history. He also served as staff accompanist at SUNY Geneseo. He is currently pursuing his MS in Secondary Music Education at the University of Bridgeport.