Kazimierz W. Machala

Professor Emeritus (2009) of Horn

M.M., Janacek Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (Czech Republic); M.M. and D.M.A., The Juilliard School

A native of Poland, Kazimierz Machala is an active performer, composer, and teacher. Professor Machala, who was the first horn player in Juilliard's history to receive the Doctor of Musical Arts degree, received third prize at the 1974 International Music Competition for Woodwinds and Brass in Prague.

Professor Machala has performed on numerous occasions with the New York Philharmonic and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, among others. He has been a member of the American Woodwind Quintet and the Australian Wind Virtuosi. During 1994-1996 he performed with the St. Louis Brass Quintet. He also has served as principal horn with the Cracow Radio Symphony and was principal horn with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in Australia for seven years. Immediately prior to Professor Machala’s appointment at the University of Illinois, he was associate professor at the University of Georgia.

Professor Machala’s Intuitions for Horn Quartet, published by Phoenix Music Publications in Holland, have been recorded by the American Horn Quartet on MSR label. His arrangement of the American Folk Suite for Woodwind Quintet, published by Shawnee Press, has been frequently performed by the Berlin Philharmonic Woodwind Quintet and released on the ensemble's compact disc Summer Music on the BIS label.

Professor Machala appeared as a soloist with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Cracow Radio Orchestra and many other symphonic ensembles. He played at the International Horn Workshop in Lahti, Finland, performing with the Horn Choir of the Eastman School of Music. In September 2002 he premiered his own Concerto for Horn, Winds and Percussion with the Wind Symphony at the University of Illinois. He has taught and performed at the Cambridge Music Festival in New Zealand, Tidewater Music Festival in Maryland, Domaine Forge Festival in Québéc, Canada, Lugano Horn Workshop in Switzerland and Daytona Beach Horn Workshop in Florida.

In 2008 Machala received the Excellence in Composition Award at the International Brass Chamber Music Festival in Louisville, Kentucky for his Brass Quintet No.1 His arrangements for various ensembles and transcriptions for horn and piano are published by International Music Company, G. Schirmer, Masters Music Publications, Shawnee Press, and International Music Diffusion in France. Most of his original compositions are published by Capo Tasto Music and distributed by Carl Fischer and Theodore Presser companies.