Krystal Folkestad, composer

The career of composer-pianist Dr. Krystal J. Folkestad, nee Grant, spans from giving lecture-recitals in elementary schools of her hometown, Birmingham, Alabama, to arranging and accompanying for a musical theater club at a senior center in Brooklyn, New York. Through her experience teaching in college classrooms, after-school programs, and a homeless shelter, she loves seeing how music can build community. She majored in piano performance and Spanish at Vanderbilt University. With her Ph.D. in composition from Stony Brook University, she has taught composition and music theory in Pennsylvania, New York, and Virginia. She lives with her husband and son in Richmond, Virginia, where she creates an oasis of inclusivity within classical music by collaborating with performers and teachers to curate repertoire by underrepresented composers. https://arsarvole.com/