About Finisterra, Classical Piano Trio

Kevin Krentz, cello, is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. Although he began his musical life as a cellist at 12, he soon dropped the cello to sing for the rest of his youth.  He  only decided to devote his energies to the cello at the age of 20 after finally deciding on a career in music after such a late start.

He then studied with Gary Hardie at Baylor University where he was three quarters of the way through a pre-med program.   Kevin made quick progress and thereafter studied with Florian Kitt of the Hochschule in Vienna, was assistant to Owen Carman, at Michigan State University and The Meadowmount School for Strings, and was assistant to Toby Saks at the University of Washington. Kevin has performed in Masterclass for Janos Starker, Matt Haimovitz, Paul Katz, and Timothy Eddy. From his late start, Kevin has gone on to perform throughout the U.S. as well as Austria, Italy, Canada and Great Britain as recitalist and soloist.

In 2000 Kevin was a winner at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition, with his clarinet, piano, and cello trio, In Flight 3. With Finisterra, Kevin was a winner in the 2005 Greenlake National Chamber Music Competition where they also won the Audience Prize. In 2004 Finisterra won the Silver Medal at the Zinetti International Chamber Music Competition in Verona, Italy against ensembles from every continent and 20 countries. In 2006, Finisterra has been invited to stay in London for extensive collaboration with the famed Florestan Trio. In addition to his chamber music credits Kevin has also won several concerto competitions and the Ladies Musical Club of Seattle Award/Tour Competition. He has been featured on NPR as well as KING FM's Live! By George program and has performed throughout the U.S. to critical acclaim.  

The Finisterra Trio are Artists-In-Residence at the Pheonix Series in New York City as well as the Seasons Concert Hall and Fall Music Festival in Yakima, Washington.  Kevin was Assistant Principal Cellist for  Gustav Meijer in the Lansing Symphony Orchestra and has performed with the prestigious Chamber Music Ann Arbor Spring Festival as well as the Seattle Chamber Music Festival and the Methow Valley Music Festival among others. Kevin is very active as a recording studio session player in Seattle where he can be heard on many major films, as well as commercials, video games, and CD’s from Dave Matthews Band to Evanescence.  Kevin can also be heard as the solo cellist on the  movie, Bordertown, starring Antonio Banderas, Jennifer Lopez, and Martin Sheen.   Sought after for his ability to improvise his own parts, Kevin can be heard on many different artist's projects.  Since 2007, Kevin has been Artistic Director of the Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival.

Kevin is a dedicated and well-known teacher in Seattle and has presented at the American String Teachers Association National Convention.  

Individual Bios - Kwan Bin Park :: Kevin Krentz :: Tanya Stambuk