BIOGRAPHY
Internationally recognized as a violinist, violist, conductor, and educator, Brian Buckstead has performed, taught, and presented throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. His work as a performer, scholar, and teacher reflects a commitment to musical discovery, thoughtful interpretation, and the expansion of the traditional concert repertoire.
Buckstead gave the world premiere of Latent Emotions for solo violin and symphonic wind ensemble by award-winning Spanish composer Oscar Navarro. He has also presented Stephen Andrew Taylor’s Pulse Aria and Achoo Lullaby—works for amplified viola and electronics—at the 2021 Fort Hays State University New Music Festival, the 2023 College Music Society Conference, and the 50th International Viola Congress in Paris.
A passionate advocate for music by overlooked, forgotten, and historically underrepresented composers, Buckstead has cultivated an extensive and eclectic repertoire as both a performer and conductor. His recent programming has included works by Einojuhani Rautavaara, William Grant Still, Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Germaine Tailleferre, and Danny Elfman. In 2019, he released his first solo album, Forgotten Bériot: Virtuoso Opera Fantasies, featuring rarely heard works by the Belgian violinist and composer Charles-Auguste de Bériot. His second album, released by MSR Classics, is devoted to the music of Ignaz Brüll, a nineteenth-century Viennese Jewish composer whose works have largely disappeared from the modern repertoire.
Buckstead is a frequent presenter at conferences of the American String Teachers Association, where he has addressed such topics as the pedagogy of John Kendall, Arabic violin technique, and the diversification of orchestral repertoire. He has conducted extensive research on Kendall, a pioneer of the Suzuki Method in the United States. His doctoral dissertation, “A Maverick Pedagogue: The Teaching and Ideas of John Kendall,” examines Kendall’s educational philosophy, innovative teaching methods, and lasting contributions to string pedagogy.
Buckstead earned his Bachelor of Music degree from St. Olaf College and his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. His principal teachers include Beatrix Lien, Charles Gray, Jennifer John, and David Perry. He has held teaching positions at colleges and universities in Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Canada.
Dr. Buckstead is Assistant Professor of Music at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, where he conducts the Creighton University Orchestra and teaches courses in music theory, music appreciation, and related areas.