'A Responsibility to Lift the Next Generation'

MARY AU, ACME CO-CHAIR, MU NU, LOS ANGELES ALUMNI AUHAUS@GMAIL.COM

Richard Kravchak is an award-winning pedagogue, an internationally recognized scholar and performer and an experienced, student-focused academic administrator with a demonstrated successful history of working in the education field in a variety of roles from K-12 music teacher through leadership positions in comprehensive higher education institutions. He has performed throughout Europe, Asia and the Americas as an oboe soloist, chamber and orchestral musician. He specializes in contemporary music, with over 100 compositions written for him. Kravchak’s experience as a performing artist includes solo performances in recitals and with orchestras, principal oboist in various orchestras and even playing in pit orchestras when he has time. Currently Kravchak is the Dean of Arts and Letters at the College of Southern Nevada in Las Vegas and also serves on the board of directors for Opera Las Vegas, the city’s leading opera company. He concurrently continues his career as an oboe soloist as his very busy administrative life allows, recently performing the Bach Double Concerto with Las Vegas Philharmonic concertmaster DeAnn Letourneau.

Who would have thought that the son of a handyman with an eighth-grade education, the grandson of a janitor and farmer, the great-grandson of an immigrant from Central Europe, a child who grew up in a blue-collar area marked by truck and poultry farms, would earn degrees from Eastman School of Music (Bachelor of Music in oboe performance), the Juilliard School (Master of Music in English horn performance) and Florida State University (Doctor of Music in oboe performance), all paid for through the incredible sacrifice of his No. 1 fan — his mother, Leilani (Martin) Girdner.

Throughout his career, Kravchak has sought to inspire the next generation of musicians. As a K-12 educator, Kravchak “embraced marching band as a mechanism to meet students where they were.” To make the ensemble experience meaningful to both the students and their community, he taught them from “a musicianship point of view” by “always learning to sing and perform their music in solfeggio before playing it.”

His Canoga Park High School bands only played classical music arrangements on the field. Kravchak would then take his students to Los Angeles Philharmonic performances of the full version of the pieces those students played at halftime. Not only did his students benefit from hearing world class performances of the music that they were studying, but Kravchak would train his students in proper concert etiquette such as how to dress and behave in a professional manner. “This remarkable group of students won the Los Angeles Unified Band and Drill Team Championship in their division five out of seven years that I was fortunate enough to teach them,” Kravchak said.

On the University level, Kravchak’s experience brought him to: Luther College in Decorah, Iowa (double reeds, saxophone and music appreciation); California State University, Dominguez Hills (chair of the Department of Music, leader of the music education program, studio woodwinds); Marshall University (professor of oboe and founding director of the School of Music and Theatre); University of Southern Mississippi (director of the School of

Music); and the College of Southern Nevada, our nation’s fifth largest community college.

Kravchak’s choice to learn the oboe “had little to do with the oboe or its sound!” He wanted to attend summer school with his friends and his only option was to learn an instrument. He picked the oboe because it was not a brass instrument and was available to a rising fourth grade student, unlike the saxophone or bassoon. “I didn’t select the clarinet, because I worried that the name sounded too much like ‘cornet’ and that it might somehow be a stealth brass instrument,” Kravchak said. “I was the only oboe player, which as an only child, I really liked.”

Kravchak said he feels very blessed to play on several fantastic modern oboes and English horns hand-made by Paul Laubin, the world-renowned oboe maker who died in 2021 at age 88. He also plays several historic oboes and all the modern woodwinds such as clarinets, saxophones, flutes and bassoon.

“Music gives structure and meaning to my professional life. I am blessed to be both an educator and a performing artist and now an administrator. I believe that the ability to interpret and comment on the human condition through my art is a blessing and a responsibility,” Kravchak said. “I have always been interested in teaching — even when I was in high school. I am also moved by the social justice piece of education — I believe that all of us whom life has treated well have a responsibility to lift the next generation.”

Kravchak views his experiences as a performing musician as complementary to his role as an educator. The two aspects of his professional life exist in harmony and his experience as a performer lends credibility to his work with students. As a performer, he understands the importance of marketing and believes it should be part of every music student’s training. He also encourages students to explore different genres and experiment with improvisation.

“There is value to be found in music from a variety of genres,” Kravchak said “I have incorporated music from the ‘Great American Songbook’ into my own performances, often to great effect.”

He encourages his students to include both classical and nonclassical music in their programs and bring the same rigor of preparation to the nonclassical offerings, including standards for intonation, sound quality and appropriate research regarding performance choices. “Actors are trained to take on all kinds of roles, so why shouldn’t musicians be trained to perform in multiple genres?”

His own musical influences embrace popular genre singers, such as Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby and the legendary classical baritone Dietrich Fischer Dieskau — “All wonderful storytellers who sang with great sound, perfect intonation and a clear artistic message.” As far as oboists go, “I learn something new every time I hear a recording of Marcel Tabuteau, for his tonal subtleties,” he said.

Though he is reluctant to single out any specific student’s recital, Kravchak said he was particularly moved by Lourdes Aguilar’s 2012 senior clarinet recital at California State University, Dominguez Hills. Aguilar (Gamma Sigma) performed beautiful renditions of the Saint-Saens clarinet sonata and Vanhal clarinet concerto on the first half of her program, then in the second half, she performed as a tenor saxophonist with her ska band and sang with a mariachi style band to end the program.

“This level of flexible musicianship has served Lulu well in her career as a music educator,” Kravchak said. “Under her leadership, the marching band at Reseda Charter High School won several Los Angeles Unified School District all-city band and drill team championships.”

Kravchak is fond of saying “There is nothing worse than going to a beautiful vocal recital where the singer stands on stage like a sack of potatoes.” He implores students to engage audiences and entertain them with a visual performance, much like pop artists do. He believes it is also critical to present performances that have meaningful emotional and intellectual content and not just a collection of pleasant sounds or fast notes, especially if a musician wants to remain relevant in the current performing arts landscape.

“When I was a student, numerous symphonies, opera and ballet companies and theater groups offered employment to new graduates,” Kravchak said. “These opportunities have receded. Many educational institutions have emphasized technical mastery of repertoire and produced a generation of graduates who are good at winning auditions, but may lack an individual artistic voice and, importantly, lack the ability to monetize their passion for music, should they not be successful on the audition circuit.”

He cites the delineation between music creators and music interpreters as one unfortunate aspect of contemporary music training at the college and university level. “I believe that it is vital for all music students to create original music, such as to improvise cadenzas in their lessons, even if they never perform this music in public,” he said.

He advises students that programming for a solo recital should be approached just like building the menu for a dinner party, something Kravchak also enjoys doing. A cohesive program begins with an entry piece, is anchored by some main course selections and should finish with dessert. Kravchak also believes in including pieces from underrepresented composers and artists.

While musicality is essential to maintaining a performing career, proper technique cannot be ignored. Kravchak plays scales every day with a metronome, including major and minor, modal, half-diminished, whole tone, chromatic and quarter tone. For oboe players, he recommends the great classic method books including Barrett, Ferling, George Gillet and Bozza — always with a metronome.

“Technique is the means by which we bring our artistic vision to fruition,” Kravchak said. “Without sufficient technique, our vision cannot be transferred from our souls to the ears, hearts and minds of the listener.”

All the advice, training and mentoring in the world can’t always prepare students for the life of a performing musician if they lack the discipline of practice. “I believe that natural consequences can often be the best teachers,” Kravchak said. “As teachers, we need to encourage students to practice. But the bottom line is that students who don’t practice will not build sufficient endurance and control and they will not be successful. Playing the oboe is not a natural act — we must build our muscles and intellect in order to do it successfully.”

George Osorio (Gamma Sigma) has fond memories of his time at California State University, Dominguez Hills with Dr. K, as Kravchak is affectionately known to his students. “He helped us become better students and musicians,” Osorio said. “When he saw us not practicing, he would tell us, ‘Why don’t you come into my office and we can change your major.’”

Kravchak is beyond proud of the many hundreds of students that he has taught through the years. A handful of students ultimately followed Kravchak into the field of music. Many of them have joined Mu Phi Epsilon.

“The only important measure of the success of an arts program is how it has positively impacted the lives of its students long after they leave our stages and classrooms,” Kravchak said.

Kravchak takes a vested interest in the long-term success of his students. Here is what two said about his influence on their lives and careers:

“As a young Latino student, going to school in the Valley came with the repeated experience of being overlooked, displaced, marginalized and disregarded. Dr. K was one of the few teachers who subverted that expectation and took a vested interest in seeing us succeed in breaking past those barriers. It’s an amazing experience to look back on, because it was his care and compassion that has made me the artist I am today. He has been the greatest influence on me as an artist and I look forward to the day that I can pay it forward to the next generation of musicians.” — Anthony Almendarez (Gamma Sigma), composer

“Dr. K was much more than an instructor. He is a caring person who only gets the best from his students. He influenced the way I teach and now how I help lead a school of 3,400 students as an assistant principal. He helped me become a better musician, teacher, mentor and now administrator. He didn’t only believe in me, but he forced me to believe in myself.” — Victor de los Santos (Gamma Sigma, Los Angeles Alumni), Santa Ana High School, California

ACME recognition highlights the strengths and accomplishments of our fraternity’s Artists, Composers, Musicologists and Educators. We encourage members to nominate deserving, actively affiliated candidates who have achieved national and/or international acclaim in their music fields for ACME consideration. Learn more at muphiepsilon.org.