Eric K (aka Kujawsky) is the founder and Music Director of Redwood Symphony.
Dr. K has developed a very clear physical style that achieves a balance of clarity and expressiveness that is pleasing to the eye. As an interpreter, he fully immerses himself and aims fo/r the strongest possible emotional response from the listener. He values creativity and originality when approaching even the most well-known works. A conductor of far-ranging abilities, Dr. K has garnered acclaim for interpretations of works from every stylistic period and genre, with a special affinity for works of the 20th and 21st centuries. He has conducted all of the Mahler symphonies, and has presented many Bay Area and West Coast premieres, including works by Bernstein, Danny Elfman and Elvis Costello.
Biography
Eric K, a native of West Los Angeles, made his conducting debut with a youth orchestra at nineteen. After completing his B.A. and M.F.A. degrees respectively in Music Education and Conducting at UCLA, K accepted a fellowship to study conducting at Stanford, where he completed his doctorate in Orchestral Conducting in 1985. He has performed at the Aspen Music Festival as a member of the prestigious Conducting Master Class, and has studied with Samuel Krachmalnick, Paul Vermel and Andor Toth.
Dr. K has performed with the Diablo Symphony, San Jose Chamber Orchestra, Saratoga Symphony, Schola Cantorum Silicon Valley, Rose City Chamber Orchestra (OR), Mesa Symphony (AZ), San Francisco Concerto Orchestra, Oakland Symphony Chorus, San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, South Valley Symphony (San Jose, CA), San Mateo Symphony, Ramshead Productions and Stanford Savoyards (Stanford University), and Theatreworks (Palo Alto, CA).
Eric K now has six compact discs with Redwood Symphony. Two feature the works of Stravinsky, including The Rite of Spring and Petrushka. Other recorded works include Pictures at an Exhibition and the complete Rodeo ballet. Dr. K has appeared on six nationally distributed cable broadcasts.
An accomplished opera and theater conductor, Maestro K has been the music director for productions of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George, (for which K received the 1987 Bay Area Theater Critics’ Circle Award and the Hollywood Dramalogue Award), My Fair Lady, Kiss Me Kate, and Cabaret. In 1996, K initiated a series of concert operas with Redwood Symphony, including Sweeney Todd, Candide, Don Giovanni, Porgy and Bess, Carmen, La Bohème and The Mikado.
An accomplished opera and theater conductor, Maestro K has been the music director for productions of Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George, (for which K received the 1987 Bay Area Theater Critics’ Circle Award and the Hollywood Dramalogue Award), My Fair Lady, Kiss Me Kate, and Cabaret. In 1996, K initiated a series of concert operas with Redwood Symphony, including Sweeney Todd, Candide, Don Giovanni, Porgy and Bess, Carmen, La Bohème and The Mikado.