Chappell Kingsland

Dr. Chappell Kingsland's diverse professional activities share a common goal: to promote cross-cultural understanding and create emotionally rich experiences through music. He has served as Adjunct Professor at Lamont since 2013, teaching Aural Skills, Theory at the Keyboard, Music Theory, Arranging and Composition. Dr. Kingsland's classes explore music from different time periods, world cultures, and genres of popular music. His teaching philosophy is that all students benefit from learning many skills in order to grow into flexible and creative musicians.

As a solo pianist and organist, his concerts and recordings weave together art music and popular music into a uniquely personal synthesis. As a composer, Dr. Kingsland thrives at the intersection of musical worlds, drawing equal inspiration from the European/American tradition and from diverse musical sources ranging from Balinese gamelan and Japanese koto to Bulgarian dance and West African kora. Notable performances include:
• Intoxication: America's Love Affair with Oil (90-minute opera): New Voices Opera (2013), Thompson Street Opera (2016), Opera on Tap (Scenes 2017)
• The Firebringers (35-minute opera): Reimagining Opera for Kids (2015 & 2021), Mile High Opera (2015), Boulder Opera (2017), Lamont Opera Theatre (2019)
• Kashmir Concerto for piano and orchestra: Wild Beautiful Orchestra (2019)
• Dans l'espoir de ce jour for baritone and orchestra: Indiana University New Music Ensemble (2013), Wild Beautiful Orchestra (2019)

Dr. Kingsland is the Executive Director of the Wild Beautiful Orchestra, a collective of freelance and conservatory musicians in the Denver area. Since its founding in 2019, the WBO has performed seven concert programs in venues ranging from concert halls and large churches to outdoor Halloween festivals. The WBO's Outreach Program has served over a thousand students in the greater Denver area, giving an average of twelve performances per year at elementary and middle schools. The group is currently producing an album of music by Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, due for release on BIS Records in 2024.

Dr. Kingsland's principal teachers were Augusta Read Thomas, Don Freund, Claude Baker, David Dzubay, P. Q. Phan and David Liptak (composition); Hans Davidsson (organ) and Tony Caramia (piano).