Kevin Ray is a composer working in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from concert music for live performance to recorded music, both standalone and multimedia. He has a wide catalogue of arrangements and compositions for guitar ensemble, written in collaboration with Michael Tseitlin, guitarist and music educator. As a percussionist, Kevin has also written numerous works for percussion ensemble and frequently arranges music for percussion in the marching arts world. Kevin is a “full stack composer” capable of realizing music from start to finish, including performing, recording, and mixing/mastering the music for final release. In addition to concert music, he specializes in creating music for video games.
Kevin’s musical journey began with early training as a classical percussionist. He quickly developed a special interest in mallet percussion and drum set, and after several years of playing, he began to experiment with other instruments, including guitar, bass, and piano. His formal training continued at Berklee College of Music, where he earned a Bachelor’s of Music in Marimba Performance and Music Composition. Kevin continued his education at Boston Conservatory at Berklee, earning a Masters in Composition.
Kevin currently serves as a percussion/composing private teacher at Adlai E. Stevenson High School, where he also teaches Percussion Ensemble and holds percussion sectionals during the day as a Percussion Specialist. He is highly involved in the marching arts, working as a marching percussion instructor and music arranger at Stevenson High School, Glenbrook North High School, and as a freelancer. He also works as a winter color guard soundtrack designer and has collaborated with groups including Allegiance, Stevenson, MONTAGE, and Kinetic winter guards.
Kevin serves as the Music Director at Bitter Jester Foundation for the Arts, a 503(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to providing education and professional support to young musicians. He serves as the music producer and mixing/mastering engineer for Live at Bitter Jester Music Festival, an annual live album released on vinyl. He currently plays drums with Chicago Americana band Zack Fedor and the Long Goodbyes, for whom he produced their debut self-titled album.
Kevin’s latest release is 8-Bit Action Adventure Vol. 1, a chiptune video game album.