KEARNEY – Kory Reeder has been selected as the 2024 UNK Gary Thomas Distinguished Music Alumnus Award recipient.
He will be honored at the 44th annual Distinguished Alumni Awards luncheon, scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Oct. 11 in the Gala Room at the Regional Engagement Center, 2204 University Drive. Tickets are $25 per person ($30 starting Sept. 30) and $15 for children ages 12 and younger. They can be purchased until Oct. 2 at unkalumni.org/homecoming or by calling the UNK Alumni Association at 308-698-5271.
“Dr. Kory Reeder is a fearless creator of, and advocate for, contemporary and experimental music,” said Anthony Donofrio, professor of music composition and theory at UNK. “Through his work as a composer, performer, and with his record label Sawer Editions, he continues to make profound and significant contributions to the field at both the national and international levels.”
Reeder resides in Denton, Texas, where he is a composer and performer of modern classical music.
Performed around the world and recognized and awarded internationally, his music is often meditative and atmospheric, investigating ideas of objectivity, place and immediacy, drawing inspiration from the visual arts and political theory. Reeder frequently collaborates with theater, dance and opera programs. His music has been released on Edition Wandelweiser Records, as well as Petrichor Records, Sawyer Editions, Sawyer Spaces, Impulsive Habitat, Another Timbre, kuyin and Full Spectrum Records.
Reeder is the owner of the Sawyer Editions label for contemporary classical music and is a lecturer at Texas A&M University-Commerce and the University of Texas at Tyler.
While at UNK, Reeder was a member of various ensembles and was recognized with the music department’s outstanding senior award and Kearney Symphony Orchestra Award of Excellence. He and fellow classmates formed and performed in a band throughout the United States. His work for the UNK Theatre production of “Hecuba” was awarded by the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival for achievement in original composition music and sound effects.
A Kearney native and Kearney High School graduate, Reeder earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance with an emphasis in composition in 2016. He also holds a Master of Music from Bowling Green State University and doctorate from the University of North Texas, both in music composition.
