Kurt Gellersted: Bio

BIOGRAPHY MUSIC COLLABORATORS PRESS CONTACT

Kurt Gellersted has always enjoyed the art of spinning several different musical plates. A native of Chicago, he spent his youth performing in the usual run of High School and Community theatre productions. But Kurt also spent his teen years playing drums, writing songs and singing in punk/art-rock bands like Birdfeeder and Plane Rides for Five Minute Drives. They played all-ages shows alongside area legends Cap’n Jazz, Friction, Gauge, and Braid. Several infamous hand-pressed cassette tapes were recorded and distributed from the garage-turned-practice space in his parents’ suburban home.

Kurt then pursued a Degree in Vocal Performance and Composition at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, world-renown for its focus on Choral music. Between traditional orchestration and theory classes, Kurt would jot down lyric ideas and play acoustic guitar in his dorm room. While on summer break in 1997, he hand-recorded his first solo album on a 4-track recorder, a folksy/rock record called the "The Cat Hair Chair".

Then it was on to NYU’s Steinhardt School of Education for Kurt’s Graduate studies in Music Composition where he studied with Dr. Justin Dello Joio. In the spring of 2002, NYU’s University Singers, a 23-person orchestra and NYU Faculty soloists premiered Kurt's 8-movement "Requiem". Upon hearing the piece, Luther College Choir Director Weston Noble hailed, "Bravo! A gifted orchestrator. I was drawn to it." The "Requiem" world premiere recording is available on CD and has since been featured on NPR's "Theme and Variations".

Since receiving his M.F.A. in Music Composition in May 2002, Kurt has premiered two new chamber works at Merkin Concert Hall, recorded his second self-released pop/rock record "Scribble Scrabble", interned for The Lion Kings’ Music Director/Principal Conductor Joseph Church and embarked on a 10-city tour with avant-garde Cellist/Composer Erik Friedlander. His work with Friedlander began in late 2002 when Kurt was hired to assist Erik while he scored a four-part PBS documentary. Kurt has since assisted Erik’s work on jingles, recording sessions and transcription projects.

In March 2005, Kurt landed an internship at Man Made Music, a busy post-production house in Midtown. The experience tuned his ear to the very specific world of writing for television. His underscoring work can be heard on NBC’s “Martha Stewart Show”, BRAVO’s “Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List”, and ABC’s “The One”. In June of 2007, Kurt produced the theme song for a pilot episode of “Family Values” starring The Daily Show’s Rob Riggle. Julia Murney (Wicked, Wild Party) came in to sing vocals at Gellersted’s Brooklyn studio. The project screened as part of the 2007 NY Television Festival. In July of 2007, his first major theme song aired with the new season of “Bizarre Foods” on the Travel Channel.

Since 2002, Kurt has been collaborating with bookwriter Will Brumley and compeer/lyricist Brooke Fox on several musical theatre projects. Most recently, he wrote music for Williamsburg! The Musical which sold out four of its five show run at the Village Theatre as part of the 2007 NY International Fringe Festival. Frank Scheck of the NYPost hailed the shows “Witty Songs” and the show took home a Fringe NYC Overall Excellence Award for Music and Lyrics.

AWARDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS:

2007 FringeNYC Overall Excellence Award – Music & Lyrics for “Williamsburg! The Musical”

ASCAPlus Award, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

NYU Graduate Student Composer of the Year Award, 2002

The Weston Noble Vocal Music Scholarship, 1996-2000

* * *

For updates and more information, join Kurt's mailing list by sending an email with "JOIN" in the message header to INFO@KURTGELLERSTED.COM.

CLICK TO JOIN KURT'S MAILING LIST

SITE LAST UPDATED: 06/28/08