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The Canadian conductor and music teacher, Kevin Zakresky, received his ARCT
degee in Piano Performance in 2002. He obtained his Bachelor of Music degree (2004) and his Masters of Music degree (2006) in conducting from the University of British Columbia, studying with Bruce Pullan.
He obtained his Master of Musical Arts degree (2008) and finished his Doctoral of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at Yale University School of Music (February 2012) with a concert performance featuring Cherubini’s Requiem for male voices and orchestra; he was awarded the prestigious Aidan Cavanagh Prize for Distinguished Intellectual Achievement. While at Yale he was director of the University Chapel Choir and assistant conductor of the Yale Camerata. His major teachers were Marguerite Brooks and Simon Carrington, and he coached with Helmuth Rilling and Stephen Layton.
From 2010 to 2012 Kevin Zakresky was Assistant Conductor of Chor Leoni Men’s Choir. He was appointed Music Director of the Prince George Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Pacifica Singers in September 2012. He has taught conducting at Simon Fraser University and directed vocal ensembles at Douglas College. He also has guest conducted the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Sudbury Symphony, West Coast Symphony, Vancouver Chamber Choir and two concerts with Sea to Sky. During his time with the Prince George Symphony, he worked with many soloists including Jane Coop, Dale Barltrop, Nadina Mackie Jackson and Lucas Wong. He has been a faculty member of the Vancouver International Song Institute, directed choirs at Douglas College and has taught conducting at the School for Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University. He made his CBC broadcast debut conducting Monteverdi with the Vancouver Chamber Choir and the Vancouver Chamber Orchestra in 2014. He has been on the voice faculty of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) School of Music since 2013. In Vancouver, he is currently Director of the Vancouver Baroque Players, Pacific Spirit Choir, Maddalena’s Descant, a new women’s vocal ensemble and Music Director at St Titus Anglican Church. Since September 2022, he is also Director of the Choral Music Program at Capilano University.
Kevin Zakresky has directed international touring productions of The Picasso Symphony, The National Geographic “Symphony for our World,” the Legend of Zelda “Symphony of the Goddesses,” the Sonic the Hedgehog Symphony, and the “Heroes” Video Game Symphony. He made his Disney debut conducting Beauty and the Beast with the Saskatoon Symphony this season. The Picasso Symphony premiered in Fort Worth this last season. Recent tour dates for “Heroes” include the Baltimore Symphony, Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Charlotte Symphony, Oregon Symphony, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Chicago Philharmonic, the English National Symphony as well as orchestras in Los Angeles, San Antonio, Seattle, San Francisco, Paris and Grand Rapids. The National Geographic "Symphony For Our World" debuted in San Francisco's Davies Symphony Hall and continued to venues in San Jose, Chicago, Madison, Minneapolis, Houston, Edmonton, Calgary, Limerick, Monterrey and Columbus. The Legend of Zelda “Symphony of the Goddesses” tour included dates in London - to conduct the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra in Wembley Arena - as well as Montreal, Philadelphia, Miami, Los Angeles, Dublin, San Francisco, San Antonio, Charlottesville, Fresno, Santiago, Buenos Aires, Birmingham (UK), Toronto, Seattle, Portland, Salt Lake City, Oklahoma City, Vancouver and Pittsburgh. This year he will guest conduct the Hong Kong Philharmonic, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal and the Saskatoon Symphony, amongst many others. |
