Skip Gray
Dr. Skip Gray was born and raised in Berea, Ohio and attended Baldwin Wallace College studying under Ronald Bishop of the Cleveland Orchestra. Gray attended graduate school at the University of Illinois studying under Daniel Parentonni. He joined the faculty of the University of Kentucky in fall of 1980. Skip became the youngest full professor in U.K. history at the age of 31. Dr. Gray has been presented at the Prestigious Midwest Band and Orchestra Convention and at Carnegie Hall as well as playing throughout North America, South America, Europe, and Japan. He hosted the 1991 International Tuba-Euphonium Conference in at University of Kentucky in Lexington as well as regional ITEA conferences as well.
Skip Gray has devoted portions of his career to arts administration. From 1992-1998, he served as Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts at U.K and Associate Director of the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts School of Music. Dr. Gray served as President of ITEA from 2001 to 2003 and as the Corresponding secretary and executive director as well. Dr. Skip Gray is a Lifetime Member of the International Tuba Euphonium Association.
Dr. Skip Gray has held the position of principal tuba in the Lexington Philharmonic since 1980 under the direction of Dr. George Zach. During 1988-1990, Gray served as principal tuba in the Orchestra Sinfonica di Torino della RAI in Turin, Italy, a national orchestra broadcast over television all over the world including the United States of America. Dr. Skip Gray served as tuba in the Munich Brass along with world-renowned Canadian Trumpet player Richard Carson Stuart from 2001-2004. Dr. Gray has been featured at various ITEA conferences over the past 25 years including at the 2001 ITEC in Lahti, Finland. In addition, Gray has been presented with the Cincinnati Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Budapest Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Cleveland Ballet Orchestra, and the United States Army Band. Along with playing music, a pastime of Dr. Gray's is to compose music for professional orchestras, bands, and ensembles. He has written thousands of compositions for these ensembles.
Dr. Skip Gray is a renowned music educator seen throughout Kentucky, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Virginia, and in Washington D.C. In Kentucky, he presents his program "Tasty Tubas: A MusicAL Journey Across the World!" This program complies with the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Dr. Gray is a frequent clinician at Yamaha's Bands of America: Music for All, Yamaha's Bands of America: Summer Symposium both in Indianapolis, Indiana, and the Kentucky Music Educator's Association Annual Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.
In 2004, Gray released a Solo Tuba compact disk with German Pianist Rudolf Ramming entitled "Tuba Europa: A Musical Journey Across the Continent." This CD was a finalist for the Roger Bobo recording award. He plans to release a new CD with Ramming soon. Rudolf Ramming has been presented with Skip Gray in the U.S., Germany, Switzerland, and Russia.
In October 2008, Dr. Skip Gray will be presented as a special guest soloist with the University of Kentucky Symphony Orchestra under the direction of John Nardolillo. The U.K. Symphony Orchestra was presented at Carnegie Hall last November 26th with Arlo Guthrie and was given an outstanding review by the New York Times. In February, the orchestra will be presented at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C. and will play for the national celebration of Pres. Abraham Lincoln's birthday.
Dr. Skip Gray is a Yamaha Performing Artist.