Kevin Lubin (he/they) is a composer, instrumentalist, and silly goose from New York and now living in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They have a master’s degree in music composition from the Longy School of Music and a bachelor’s in harpsichord performance from Adelphi University. Kevin is honored to be one of the recipients of the 2026 Creative Individuals Grant offered by the Massachusetts Cultural Council! Their music, both silly and serious, has been performed by acclaimed artists such as Reflections Duo, the GAIA Quartet, and BRACE New Music Choir, and has been workshopped by ensembles Imani Winds, Sō Percussion, Cantus, and Axiom Brass. As a harpsichordist and viola da gamba player, they have performed with a variety of historically-informed ensembles including 4&20 Strings, the Harvard Baroque Orchestra, and the Boston Camerata. Most recently, Kevin is a founding member and artistic director of Little Songbook Opera, a Massachusetts-based opera company dedicated to making music fun, accessible, and meaningful. Other passions include teaching lessons for a variety of instruments such as piano, ukulele, guitar, voice, and recorder. Kevin is particularly proud of the self-published Just Keep Playing, a book of piano repertoire for beginner to intermediate students containing music written by historically marginalized composers. On a typical day, Kevin can be found brewing multiple cups of coffee, singing in Yiddish, and scheduling more rehearsals than they have time for.
Kevin has studied composition with Dr. John Morrison, Dr. Sidney Marquez Boquiren, and Dr. Ariel Lazarus. They have also studied harpsichord with Elaine Comparone, viola da gamba with Tal Arbel and Jane Hershey, and mandolin with Ryan Closs.
Artist Statement
A life of playing silly music on silly instruments can be a very serious one. In every aspect of my work, I am looking to form and strengthen connections between people, which I firmly believe can be done through the intersection of comedy and music. Additionally, I am a fierce collaborator and prefer to work with people who have different perspectives than my own so we can connect with a wider audience. A successful performance, in my opinion, is one that the audience members leave smiling and laughing, ready to bring a little bit more levity into the world.
Teaching Statement
I approach teaching with enthusiasm, passion, and patience. I believe that my job is to teach my students to love music and appreciate it in all its forms, while understanding the variety in musical styles and repertoire. Every student is different and requires a unique teaching approach; however, all of my students are taught to read music and understand the basics of proper playing technique. Most of the repertoire that I give to my students are from the Western Classical tradition, published in my collection Just Keep Playing, though my lessons are primarily student-led. They are encouraged to choose their own repertoire and I do my best in finding music that they feel excited about playing while being at an appropriate level.
DEIB Statement
One of my favorite endeavors in my musical career is curating performances. In this area, I strive to create experiences that are musically fulfilling and cover a wide range of repertoire. Specifically, I present music that is by composers of a variety of backgrounds. I do my best to try to plan programs in a way where this music is showcased in a natural way, rather than as a performative novelty. Oftentimes, I plan themed concerts. In this way, all of the music fits a theme (i.e. springtime, mythical creatures, cats, etc.) but can easily include music by composers who have been historically marginalized by their gender, race, ethnicity, class, sexuality, or other factors.