Where Are They Now? spotlights Minnesota Varsity Featured and Showcase Artists from 2011 to 2016.
Composer Austin Kraft from Savage, Minn. was a 2013 and 2016 Showcase Composer, and a 2014 Featured Composer. He recently got in touch with Classical MPR's Christine Sweet to share his latest news.
Austin Kraft, 2013 & 2016 Showcase Composer, 2014 Featured Composer
Age: 19
Hometown: Savage, Minn.
Attends: University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
It is strange to see the annual announcement of Minnesota Varsity from the perspective of a fully graduated alum. Minnesota Varsity has played such a critical role in shaping my identity as an artist and as a human. From the interviews in the Maud Moon Weyerhaeuser Recording Studios to the composing workshops with mentor Carol Barnett, the Varsity experience is at once humbling and empowering.
After years of growth with Minnesota Varsity, I am working to continue to make composing opportunities available for high school composers. Alongside Seamus Hubbard Flynn and several other young composers, I am part of the founding group for NextNotes Lab, a young composers' program supported by the American Composers Forum. I am thrilled to share in the process of music-making with these gifted peers.
As for a general life update, I am pursuing a B.S.Math./B.A. dual-degree at the University of Minnesota in mathematics and linguistics. I continue to compose and play my horn, I and am deeply grateful that my dorm room is literally across the street from Ted Mann Concert Hall.
For information on this year's season of Minnesota Varsity, please visit the Minnesota Varsity homepage.
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