Kirk Nurock

A highly inventive pianist, composer, and educator, Kirk Nurock is a Juilliard-trained performer whose music touches upon such varied styles as post-bop jazz, classical composition, and avant-garde choral music. Born in Camden, New Jersey in 1948, Nurock was a prodigy and by his teens was already a gifted performer. At age 16, he became the first student awarded the Duke Ellington scholarship from the Eastman School of Music, receiving the award from Ellington himself at the ceremony. After high school, he earned his master's degree in composition from Juilliard, where he studied with Vincent Persichetti, Luciano Berio, Manny Albam, and others. As a solo artist, he debuted in 1976 with Nurock. ~ Matt Collar