Kristen Zelenak
Director of Bands & Assistant Professor of Music
Contact:
Phone: +1 8704601160
Email: Zelenak@uamont.edu
Bio:
Kristen Zelenak, 2022, Assistant Professor, DMA in Saxophone Performance – Arizona State University, MM in Wind Band Conducting – Arizona State University, MM in Music Performance – Michigan State University, Bachelor of Music Education – Central Michigan University.
Whether as an award-winning saxophonist or collaborating with large ensembles, Kristen Zelenak is an active educator, conductor, soloist, and chamber musician from New Baltimore, Michigan. She has given multiple guest artist recitals and masterclasses across the country and regularly performs with her saxophone/piano duo, ZelenArch.
Zelenak is currently the Director of Bands and Assistant Professor of Saxophone at the University of Arkansas at Monticello. She teaches the Marching Band, Wind Symphony, Applied Saxophone and Clarinet, and Woodwind Methods. She is also a sought-after band clinician and judge in the Arkansas and Louisiana area.
Her debut album, Taking Flight will be released in the spring of 2024. This project is a commission of works by female jazz composers that blur the lines between jazz and classical saxophone while incorporating basic improvisational elements. As a saxophonist, she has performed with groups including the Lansing Symphony, Phoenix Symphony, Seyon Saxophone Quartet, and Lotus Trio. Her groups have been nationally recognized in multiple competitions including winning prizes at the Coltman Chamber Music Competition and the MTNA Chamber Music Competition. She has also competed as a semifinalist in other national competitions such as the North American Saxophone Alliance, Fischoff, and MPRIZE.
She received her DMA in Saxophone Performance and MM in Wind Band Conducting from Arizona State University. Her MM in Saxophone Performance is from Michigan State University and her BME is from Central Michigan University. Her teachers include Christopher Creviston, Jason Caslor, Joseph Lulloff, and John Nichol. Prior to finishing her advanced degrees, she taught middle school band in Huntsville, TX.