Brianna Zrinsky

Brianna Zrinsky is the Director of Bands at Colorado School of Mines. Originally from Chicago, Zrinsky teaches band and music in the U.S. and abroad. Zrinsky graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL). She earned an MM with a wind conducting emphasis from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL). She studied conducting under Dr. Timothy Yontz, Dr. Mallory Thompson, and Mr. Daniel Farris. She played flute and piccolo in many ensembles throughout her academic career. Some of her performance highlights included playing at Bands of America, the Midwest Clinic International Band and Orchestra Conference, and the CBDNA North Central Division Honor Band.

Zrinsky taught band in public schools in the suburbs of Chicago and Denver and currently holds an Illinois Music Educators License. For four years, she was a faculty member at Morrison Academy Kaohsiung, an international school in Taiwan, where she built a high school music program. During her tenure she served on the Fine Arts Curriculum Committee, coordinated middle school music festivals and culture trips, and was the faculty sponsor of the High School Music Service Club. She was also an active flute performer in the Kaohsiung area, playing at the Kaohsiung Cultural Center, Kaohsiung Art Museum, I-Shou University, and Wenzao University of Languages.

After graduating from Northwestern University, Zrinsky was Director of Bands at Rocky Mountain College (Billings, MT). In addition to her duties as the Director of Bands, she taught World Music, served as the RMC NAfME faculty chair, and coordinated music studio and instrumental lessons. She was invited to adjudicate several band and wind conferences in the Montana area.

Zrinsky recently presented her music education research at an international music conference hosted by The University of Calgary. Her research interests include international students’ music education experiences, wind repertoire and conducting, and instrumental music education methods.