Sergei Kvitko’s career is as diverse as it is successful. His appearances as a pianist, although rare, generate excitement and critical acclaim. A voting member of National Academy of Recording Arts andSciences (GRAMMY), he is a much sought-after recording engineer and producer. As a composer he gathered multiple awards for his incidental music for the production of Steven Dietz’s play “Dracula.”

A computer audio wizard, Mr. Kvitko has produced and engineered CDs for such labels as DUX, Goldenrod, Naxos, Fleur de Son, Crystal Records, Toccata Classics as well as his own independent label Blue Griffin.

Fanfare Magazine noted that “his... recordings have been widely praised for their rich and natural sound as a result of Kvitko’s perfectionist engineering standards,” and American Record Guide applauded Blue Griffin label as “a consistent stream of exceptionally enjoyable recordings.” Many of the CDs that he produced and engineered earned praises such as “superbly well recorded” (International Record Guide, UK), “vividly detailed, vibrant sonics” (Gramophone, UK), “the recording is close to ideal – rich, but clear, truthful and immediate” (American Record Guide). In 2007 Sergei had the honor of being invited as one of the panelists of the Classical Recording Workshop of the TapeOpCon 2007, a national recording conference in Tucson, AZ, sharing the panel with George Massenburg and Conrad Strauss.

In 2008 Blue Griffin released Mr. Kvitko’s self-engineered and self-produced solo piano CD “Of Lands and People Far Away” to critical acclaim. American Record Guide placed his performance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition “among the best ever made,” and included it in Critics’ Choice 2008 List as one of the best recordings of the year, alongside such luminary classical superstars as Placido Domingo, Herbert von Karajan, Marta Argerich and others. Fanfare Magazine praised his “masterful, intuitive playing... arresting artistry... an iconoclastic sense for rubato rhythm and phrasing.”

Sergei is very active in many of the area's theater productions, each year earning awards for "Best Sound Design" and "Best Original Music." The Dracula CD, his biggest success so far, was praised by critics for being "gorgeous and frightening", "clearly a major composition", and "film quality score." Lawrence Cosentino of City Pulse wrote: "Kvitko wove a borderline insane level of care and sophistication into every bar of his score even when you can barely hear it." Fanfare Magazine called it “a well conceived, executed, and imaginative score… entertaining, powerful, witty,” and noted its “terrific verve, sweeping orchestration.”

Sergei Kvitko was born in Russia and began studying music at the age of six. After receiving the highest musical education there, he came to the United States to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Michigan State University, where he studied with Ralph Votapek. In his first year at MSU he won the school’s two most prestigious contests: The Honors Competition and The Catherine Herrick Cobb Scholarship Competition, the latter of which earned him the etching of his name into a golden plaque at the entrance to MSU’s School of Music. In addition to his piano engagements and work as producer and sound engineer, for the last 13 years Mr. Kvitko has been the organist of the First Presbyterian Church in Downtown Lansing where he also organizes Fine Arts Concert Series, open to public performances by local and visiting artists.

Of Lands and People Far Away

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Dracula. Original Music by Sergei Kvitko

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