About Kim Pineda

Kim Pineda has performed on historical flutes and recorders, and as a conductor throughout the U.S., Canada, in Israel, and on NPR. Founder and music director of Grand Cru Baroque, he performs regularly with leading early music ensembles in the U.S. He has performed at the Boston, Berkeley, Long Beach Bach, and Bloomington early music festivals, Seattle’s Bumbershoot Festival, and has recorded on the Focus, Centaur, and Origin Classical labels. Kim received the PhD in Musicology from the University of Oregon, the Master of Music degree from Washington University, St. Louis, and the Bachelor of Music degree from California State University Northridge. Dr. Pineda currently teaches AP World History, US History & Geography, and US Government & Economics at Pojoaque Valley High School in Santa Fe County, and previously was the chair of the social studies department at Española Valley High School, where he taught AP World History, AP US History, US Government and Economics, and was one of the faculty sponsors of the school’s Farm to Table Club. He previously taught at Sam Houston State University, Texas Tech University, the University of Oregon, Indiana University, USC, North Seattle Community College, at workshops sponsored by the San Francisco and San Diego early music societies and the Seattle Recorder Society, co-directed the Flute Extremes workshop with Molly Barth, and for 15 years directed Grand Cru Baroque/Baroque Northwest’s Baroque Flute Boot Camp. Dr. Pineda is also a Northern New Mexico Master Naturalist. Other interests include the culinary and healing arts, gardening, resistance training, and the pursuit of the ultimate cadence. In his spare time he reads non-fiction and writes for The Fugal Gourmet music and food blog. Learn more about Dr. Pineda from his website and at his YouTube channel.

The Scholar-Performer

“What do you need to know to play this music?”
I ask myself this question every time I put a piece of music on my stand. The gateway into the realm of historical performance is filled with many layers. Those layers (and primary sources) are seemingly never-ending and paradoxical. The skills used for conducting musicological and ethnomusicological research are invaluable for my work. The scholar-performer needs to be aware that each primary source is merely a snapshot of a particular place and time. The mission of the scholar-performer, should you decide to accept it, is to survey the available information for each situation, and then try to use it in the context of a modern performance. A challenging task, to be sure, and not without obstacles. It is also filled with musical and intellectual rewards.

Photo by Marika Pineda