Greg Kostraba has successfully combined a career as a radio professional and concert pianist. At the Fourth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs in 2004, Greg’s performances were called “mesmerizing” (Fort Worth Star-Telegram) and “boldly hewn” (Dallas Morning News) and garnered him semifinalist status. He has also been featured numerous times nationwide on Performance Today, performing with the Sylvan Trio, flutist Suzanne Bona, violinists Francesca Anderegg and Paul Woodiel, and with the Toledo Symphony conducted by Chelsea Tipton II. Currently afternoon music host at 89.5 KBACH in Phoenix and host & producer of KBACH’s Heart of the Arts podcast, Greg has worked for more than 30 years in public broadcasting, as program director, music director, and announcer.
A frequent performer of and advocate for chamber music, Greg is a member of the Sylvan Trio, which has performed through the United States. The Sylvans have made several recordings, most recently A Pirate’s Christmas by Rick Sowash on the RSP Classics label, Music for Flute, Cello & Piano by Women Composers and the title track of the album Seasonal Breezes: Five Chamber Works by Rick Sowash, which also features Greg and cellist Josh Aerie in two suites for cello and piano (Dark Forest and October Reveries). Other recordings include Voyageurs (with the Upland Trio) and Trio Quelque Chose on Kickshaw Records; the Toledo Clarinets debut recording on Cambria Master Recordings, and two recordings of quartets by Rick Sowash with members of the Toledo Symphony on RSP Classics.
Greg has performed across the United States, including appearances as soloist with orchestras and wind ensembles in Ohio, Indiana & Michigan, as well as solo piano and chamber music performances at Chicago’s Blackstone Library, Montana Public Radio, Arizona Christian University, Toledo’s Rosary Cathedral, the Muskegon Museum of Art, and the William Grant Still Festival. He also has experience developing non-profit classical music organizations, teaching pianists, and adjudicating competitions.
Greg holds masters and doctoral degrees in piano performance from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music. He has studied piano and chamber music with Dorothy Bolognini, Alan Mandel, Richard Morris, Richard Fields, and Sandra Rivers, and participated in master classes with pianists Eugene Istomin, Michael Brown, Eugene & Elisabeth Pridonoff, and Tom McDermott as well as members of the La Salle, Audubon, and Tokyo String Quartets. More information about Greg is available here.
Meet the Sylvan Trio: