In 2002, he was awarded First Prize at the Concert Artists Guild International Competition,[1] and was the recipient of a 2004 Avery Fisher Career Grant.
[5] Kolkay has premiered new compositions by: Judah Adashi Elliott Carter Katherine Hoover Harold Meltzer Russell Platt John Fitz Rogers Charles Wuorinen.
His first solo CD, called BassoonMusic[6] was released in 2011 on CAG Records and spotlights works by 21st-century American composers.
The BMI Foundation awarded Kolkay the Carlos Surinach Prize for outstanding service to American music by an emerging artist.
Born in Naperville, IL, Mr. Kolkay was awarded has bachelor's degree at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, studying with Monte Perkins.