Andy Kozar trumpeter. composer. educator.
Pittsburgh native, Andy Kozar is a New York City based trumpeter, improviser, composer and educator. A strong advocate of contemporary music, he is a founding member of loadbang, a member of TILT Brass, and has performed with new music ensembles including Argento Chamber Ensemble, Talea, Signal, Ensemble ACJW, Wet Ink, TACTUS, Mimesis, and Mark Gould’s Pink Baby Monster. He has performed alongside artists such as Dave Douglas, Todd Reynolds, Pablo Heras Casado, Brad Lubman, and David Cossen in addition to working closely with numerous composers including Helmut Lachenmann, Augusta Reed Thomas, and Pulitzer Prize winning composer David Lang. Andy has premiered music for the Electronic Music Foundation (EMF) and in the past 4 years, has had over twenty pieces written for him. He has performed at Bang on a Can marathons both at MASS MoCA and in New York City.
Equally well versed in the traditional repertoire, he was featured as a soloist with the Pan-American Symphony and the Carnegie Mellon Baroque Orchestra, was featured in Eastman School of Music’s ‘Rising Stars’ recital, performed with the Eastman Wind Ensemble, is currently a member of New York City based orchestra Camerata Notturna, and in 2003, he served as principal trumpet of the Pittsburgh Opera Center Orchestra.
In addition to contemporary and traditional classical music, his versatility has also allowed him the opportunity to perform with the Grammy nominated Travis Sullivan’s Bjorkestra, with whom he performed at the 2008 Montreal Jazz Festival, the Dave Ravello Ensemble, and indie pop bands including the Generationals and Emanuel and the Fear. He has also performed on Broadway’s Mary Poppins.
As a recording artist, he can be heard on indie pop albums by Emanuel and the Fear and Bennett Lin in addition to Signal’s upcoming Mode Records release of Helmut Lachenmann’s music.
He can regularly be seen performing at New York City’s contemporary/experimental music venues including John Zorn’s space The Stone, Roulette, The Tank, Issue Project Room, and The Flea. He has also performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Miller Theater at Columbia University, Symphony Space, Merkin Hall, The World Financial Center, The Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., The Kimmel Center in Philadelphia, and Heinz Hall in Pittsburgh.
Andy has studied with Anthony Pasquarelli, James Thompson, Brian McWhorter, Jens Lindemann and Mark Gould, has studied at Carnegie Mellon University, holds a BM from the Eastman School of Music, and a MM in contemporary performance at Manhattan School of Music. He is on faculty at the Long Island Conservatory, the North Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts, and is a teaching artist for the American Composers Orchestra.
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Photo: Kara Gwyn
