Rate My Professor Richard Kravchak

Dr. Richard Kravchak serves as Dean of the School of Arts and Letters at the College of Southern Nevada, overseeing departments including Communication, English, Fine Arts, and World Languages. He holds performance degrees from the Eastman School of Music, the Juilliard School, and Florida State University. His career history encompasses academic and administrative leadership at multiple institutions, including Chair of the Department of Music at California State University, Dominguez Hills; founding Director and Professor of Oboe at the School of Music and Theatre at Marshall University; Director of the School of Music and Dean’s Coordinator for Performing Arts at the University of Southern Mississippi; and positions at Luther College and Moorpark College. Earlier, he taught elementary music in the Los Angeles Unified School District and served on the conducting faculty of the Valley Youth Orchestras.

An internationally acclaimed oboist, Kravchak has performed as a soloist, chamber musician, and orchestral player throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas with ensembles such as the Dubuque Symphony, University of Hawaii Wind Ensemble, Carson Symphony, Banda Espinia de Portugal, and Orquesta Sinfonica de El Salvador. He specializes in contemporary music, with over 100 compositions dedicated to him, and historically informed practice on period oboes from the Renaissance to the early 20th century. He has presented solo performances at conferences including the International Double Reed Society, North American Saxophone Alliance, Festival Forfest, and International Clarinet Society. Currently, he is principal oboe of the Las Vegas Sinfonietta, Baroque oboist with Cosmopolitan Baroque, and performs on oboe, oboe d’amore, and English horn with the New York Kammermusiker. Kravchak’s teaching from K-12 to doctoral levels has been honored with the first National Board Certification in music education for a California teacher, Platinum Apple Award from United Teachers of Los Angeles, Los Angeles County Teacher of the Year, Bravo Award finalist, and Dunsay Award from the Music Center of Los Angeles. As dean, he improves student success, boosts enrollments, and mentors faculty.