Kevin Kay is interested in how sound behaves physically in our world. His music utilizes physically and mathematically oriented harmonic languages centered on just intonation. Psychoacoustics often informs his work, which becomes entangled with both the harmonic space and the temporal structure/process. Recurring threads in his body of work include the notions of duality and symmetry.

Kevin’s music has been performed by ensembles such as Divertimento Ensemble, Spektral Quartet, Imani Winds, PinkNoise Ensemble, Ghost Ensemble, The City of Tomorrow, MotoContrario Ensemble, and the Brouwer Trio, among others. As a clarinetist, he performs his own solo works. Festivals that have performed Kevin’s music include: the Cortona Sessions for New Music (2020 Cortona Prize winner), the International Workshop for Young Composers, IRCAM’s ManiFeste Academy, Les Ecoles d’Art Américaines de Fontainebleau, New Music on the Point, the Yarn/Wire Institute, the NYC Electroacoustic Music Festival, the Electroacoustic Barn Dance, the National Student Electronic Music Event, the Valencia International Performing Arts Summer Festival, and the Charlotte New Music Festival.

Kevin is currently a PhD candidate at Stony Brook University. He holds an M.A. in the Humanities from the University of Chicago and a B.S. in Physics and Music (double major) from the College of William and Mary. His teachers include Margaret Schedel, Nirmali Fenn, Sam Pluta, and Sophia Serghi.