John Korak is Professor of Trumpet and former Music Department Chair at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.  He holds B.M.E., M.M., and D.M.A. degrees from the University of North Texas, where he was a student of Leonard Candelaria.  Having performed with such groups as the Mexico City Philharmonic, Illinois Symphony, Texas Baroque Ensemble, Dallas Bach Society, Texas Brass Ensemble, American Kantorei, Texas Wind Symphony, the Saint Louis Brass Ensemble, the Bach Society of Saint Louis, the Bluebonnet Brass, and the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Dr. Korak maintains a busy schedule as a trumpet soloist and chamber musician, and is equally adept at both modern and natural (valveless) trumpets.

A former Principal Cornetist of the Saint Louis Brass Band, Dr. Korak has been a featured performer with the SIUE Wind Symphony at St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in London, England, and the American Cathedral in Paris, France.  In 2005 he performed the Illinois premier of Eric Ewazen’s Danzante for Trumpet and Wind Ensemble.  He has performed at International Trumpet Guild conferences in Bangkok (Thailand), Göteborg (Sweden), and in the United States.  He was a featured artist at the 1997 International Music Festival in Nagaoka, Japan, and was a member of the Texas Baroque Trumpet Ensemble at the European Trumpet Days Conference in Bad Säckingen, Germany.

Dr. Korak has directed both middle school and high school band programs in Lewisville, Texas, and is the director of the University Concert Band at SIUE.  He is sought as a clinician in both the trumpet performance and wind band areas, and has presented clinics to students throughout the country and abroad, including master classes at the Krakow (Poland) Academy of Music, the Monterey (Mexico) Youth Music Camp, the Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp (Michigan), and Nagaoka (Japan) public schools.

Dr. Korak is a member of Who's Who, Pi Kappa Lambda Music Honor Society, Alpha Chi Honor Society, Phi Kappa Phi Graduate Honor Society, and the International Trumpet Guild.  He is the Book Reviews Editor for the International Trumpet Guild Journal, and is the author of two books published by Balquhidder Music: Giuseppe Concone:  The Complete Solfeggi and Bel Canto Studies for Trumpet.  Dr. Korak is a performing artist for the Edwards Instrument Company.  He lives in Edwardsville with his wife, Jennifer, and his two children, Brendan and Abby.

 

 

 

URL: http://www.siue.edu/MUSIC/korakBio.html
Published by: SIUE Dept. of Music
Last update: 10/17/07 by dcoan@siue.edu