Kevin Hartnett is an award-winning composer of music for orchestra, choir, small ensemble, and stage. Based in Los Angeles, he has worked extensively with middle and high school orchestras on both popular repertoire and his own compositions. Past achievements include receiving first place in ASTA’s 2008 Merle J. Isaac Junior Composition Contest, selection in the 2008 MENC Student Composition Talent Search, and earning first place in the University of Missouri’s Creating Original Music Project. Kevin’s music has been played across the United States and around the world by performers of all ages and experience levels. His compositions have been featured in concert by the Saint Louis University String Orchestra, the Kansas Ambassadors of Music in Europe, the YES Academy in Thailand, and the American Voices Association in Jordan. In 2010, he was commissioned by the Lee’s Summit Symphony to write a piece to be played at a concert commemorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War. That same year, he composed the music for the play “Spumoni” that was part of the Kansas City Fringe Festival. Kevin is currently pursuing a degree in composition at the USC Thornton School of Music, where he has studied with numerous composers including Donald Crockett, Stephen Hartke, Morten Lauridsen, Erica Muhl, and Frank Ticheli. He is active as a composer, conductor, and educator in both Los Angeles and Kansas City.
