Kirk O'Riordan: composer, conductor, saxophonist

News and Upcoming Events

Sunday March 8, 2026
Kirk will perform Ibert's Concertino da camera with the PA Sinfonia.

Sunday February 1, 2026
Kirk and Holly will perform music by Albright, Swerts, Piazzola, and O'Riordan as a part of the Faculty Artist Series at the Williams Center for the Arts.

Saturday June 14, 2025
Kirk and Holly will perform Prayer Stones at the Eugene Rousseau Celebration at the University of Minnesota. We are honored to have been selected to perform and to help celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Rousseau, with whom I studied from 1989-1991.

New Works for Saxophone and Piano Available
Prayer Stones, an adaptation of Kirk's work for viola and piano, is available for alto saxophone and piano.

Variations on a Ground Bass will receive its world premiere at the US Navy Band International Saxophone Symposium in January, 2025.
Both pieces are available for purchase.

Coming soon! A new work for soprano saxophone and piano. Contact Kirk if you would like to join the commissioning consortium.

William Albright's Sonata for Alto Saxophone and Piano:
A Study in Stylistic Contrast

Kirk is the author of this paper. As of now, it remains self-published. If you are interested in acquiring a copy for your research, please contact Kirk using the link below.

What People Say

Kirk O'Riordan's music

has been referred to as “unapologetically beautiful” and is often praised for its uniquely “visual” qualities that depict a wide range of striking moods. His debut compact disk, Strange Flowers, was praised by Audiophile Audition as “one of the most impressive and beautiful collections of chamber music I have heard in awhile….This is all just so lovely and invokes exactly the emotions that good music should be able to induce in all of us." Gramophone Magazine praised O’Riordan as “a composer for whom imagery is a defining inspiration.…[he] is a deeply sensitive composer who savours going gently into the night.”

Parma Recordings

"O'Riordan's music will fire the imagination of all those fascinated by life, language, and the distinct challenge
of expressing poetry and poetic themes in song."

The Morning Call

"Kirk O’Riordan is not strictly speaking a minimalist, yet he possesses that rare quality of capturing a
vivid musical landscape with Webern-like efficiency."

American Record Guide

"He haunts and provokes, excites and soothes."

Sound Meets Sound

"Though writing diatonic music, O’Riordan deftly shifts expectation from harmony to gesture, beckoning the listener to hitch on for the ride."

Kirk O'Riordan

composer | conductor| saxophonist

News and Upcoming Events

What People Say

Kirk O'Riordan's music

Parma Recordings

The Morning Call

American Record Guide

Sound Meets Sound

Discography

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