BIOGRAPHY
Ken Drobnak is a freelance teacher, clinician and tuba artist based in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex. He previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Tuba & Euphonium at East Texas A&M University. He has also 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).
Drobnak’s career has spanned three continents, with appearances overseas in Europe and South America. 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. 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 coordinated the organization’s Clifford Bevan Award for Research for over six years. 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.
Drobnak’s primary tuba teachers include Tucker Jolly, Phil Sinder and James Willett. He also studied with Deanna Swoboda, Curtis Olson and Karl Hinterbichler. 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. He 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 Spanish Association of Tubas and Euphoniums and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
