Kenny Kriha

Kenny Kriha is a bassoonist and contrabassoonist known for their story-like and personality-filled performances. They are currently based in north Los Angeles and are perusing a Masters degree at the California Institute of the Arts. They earned their Bachelors of Music in Bassoon performance from the University of Arizona in 2024 under the guidance of Dr. Marissa Olegario

Kenny prides themselves on their entertaining, enriching, and over the top performances. They like to ensure that all performances will be a memorable experience. They have appeared as a soloist with the Arizona Symphony Orchestra and played as a member of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra, Southern Arizona Symphony Orchestra, and Sierra Vista Symphony. In addition to the standard expected bassoon duties, they enjoy playing jazz, samba, contemporary, punk, and experimental music with their electric/amplified bassoon setup.

Kenny is very focused on performing and creating as much new music as possible. They’ve spent past summers at music festivals that specifically promote new music, such as the Akropolis Chamber Music Institute and the Mostly Modern Festival. As a genderqueer individual, they want to shine light onto women, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ composers when commissioning works to elevate the ideals and perspectives of the diverse groups of people who contribute to the industry.