Brett Kroening

Composer Brett Kroening writes of his music: "At times, I use minimalistic ideas - small rhythmic cells and incorporate that idea with more melodic lines, almost neo-romantic, to create a more cohesive, accessible texture. At times minimalism can be a 'wash' to the non-musical ear and romanticism can be 'overdone' so, I try to include/conjoin appealing aspects of these when I write. (Of course, the type of commission has a big impact on how I choose to write a work as well.)"

Composers that he claims as inspiration include John Adams, Samuel Barber, Dmitri Shostakovich, George Crumb.

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About

Performer and composer Brett Kroening was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Brett studied music performance as well as music theory and composition in both Colorado and New Mexico and completed a Bachelor’s degree in Horn Performance from the University of New Mexico under Professor Susie Fritts.

A resident of Austin, Texas since 2007, Brett has worked as a freelance horn player, private teacher, composer and arranger. In the fall of 2007, Brett served as the Teaching Assistant for the Horn Studio under Professor Patrick Hughes at the University of Texas at Austin. Brett has participated in performance or composition master classes with Dan Perantoni, Sam Pilafian, Bruce Adolphe, George Crumb, Michael Colgrass and has performed with the Austin Symphony, Amarillo Symphony, San Juan Symphony, New Mexico Symphony, Mid-Texas Symphony and the San Antonio Symphony.

Though typically known as an instrumental composer, Brett has composed various choral works using original text, texts from various living poets, and texts from American Transcendentalists such as Emerson and Thoreau. Brett is also a member of the American Societies of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

–Brett Kroening

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