Ken Drobnak

About

Ken Drobnak is a freelance teacher, clinician and tuba artist in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex who serves as an Adjunct Professor of Tuba & Euphonium at Texas A&M University – Commerce. Previously, he has held university teaching positions at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Del Mar College, Northwestern Oklahoma State University, South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, The University of South Dakota and Rocky Mountain College (Billings, Montana).

Dr. Drobnak has performed with the Greater Lansing Symphony Orchestra, North East Texas Symphony Orchestra, Billings Symphony Orchestra, Allen Philharmonic Orchestra, Helena Symphony Orchestra, Dallas Winds, Michigan State University Wind Symphony, Michigan State University Symphony Orchestra, the South Dakota Brass Quintet and numerous other chamber ensembles.

Drobnak has performed twice in Spain at the invitation of the the Spanish Association of Tubas and Euphoniums and recently performed in Brazil at ETB5, sponsored by the Brazilian Association of Euphoniums and Tubas. Previously, he has performed at many universities in the central United States and co-hosted the 2017 South Central Regional Tuba Euphonium Conference at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. He performed in Carnegie Hall with the National Wind Ensemble and in Severance Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra. He appears almost every summer as a soloist with the Rapid City Municipal Band, located in the Black Hills of South Dakota.

Dr. Drobnak currently serves as Historian of the International Tuba Euphonium Association and writes the “Looking Back” column for each Journal. He also coordinates the organization’s Clifford Bevan Award for Research. Dr. Drobnak has presented research at Regional and International Tuba Euphonium Conferences and also at Regional and National Conferences hosted by the College Band Directors National Association. Tuba-Euphonium Press, now part of Cimarron Press, has published many of his arrangements and settings for tuba.

As a conductor, Dr. Drobnak has led athletic bands, concert bands, jazz bands and chamber ensembles in the public schools and at the collegiate level. While at The University of South Dakota, he conducted the premiere of the band version of Lee Actor’s “Concerto for Horn and Orchestra” with Bernhard Scully as soloist. He has hosted numerous marching and concert band festivals and conducted at numerous TubaChristmas events.

Drobnak’s primary tuba teachers include Tucker Jolly, Phil Sinder and James Willett. He also studied with Deanna Swoboda, Curtis Olson and Karl Hinterbichler. His primary conducting teachers include Robert Jorgensen, Michael Golemo, Eric Rombach-Kendall and Wesley Broadnax.

In 2005, Drobnak received his Doctor of Musical Arts in Tuba Performance from Michigan State University. He also holds a Master of Music in Conducting from The University of New Mexico and baccalaureate degrees in Music Education and Tuba Performance from The University of Akron (Summa Cum Laude).

Dr. Drobnak’s research interests include the biography of Mr. Oscar Stover, the history of Frank Holton & Company and the history of the Northern Hills Community Band. Dr. Drobnak became interested in the history of Frank Holton & Company while serving as a Curatorial Assistant at the National Music Museum in Vermillion, South Dakota and has published numerous articles on low brass instruments by Holton in the museum’s collections.

Dr. Drobnak’s former students can be found teaching in the public schools, performing with military bands, teaching at the university level, performing abroad and contributing to the music community. He is a member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association, College Band Directors National Association, Texas Music Education Association, Historic Brass Society, the Brazilian Association of Euphoniums and Tubas, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.

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