Composer Feature: Dayton Kinney

Happy Friday! Today we are featuring composer alum Dayton Kinney, PhD (on her birthday, no less!)

Holding degrees from Duke University, Carnegie Mellon, and Smith College, Dayton Kinney’s music has been praised as “compelling single-movement designs” by Gramophone. Her music has been performed across the U.S. and abroad by notable ensembles such as the Pittsburgh Opera, Zodiac Trio, and Sirius Quartet.

In recent news, Dayton’s flute & piano piece, “Integrated Unity,” was performed at the Music by Women Festival and at the CMS South Central Conference. She also had a chamber orchestral piece performed by the Texas New Music Ensemble’s Texas New Music Festival at the Midtown Arts Center - Houston. Internationally, Dayton’s “Discernible Angles”was performed at the 2025 CMS International Conference in Colombia. Her newest project (“Not Quite Human”) will be taking her to Thailand in December for the premiere at the Bangkok Arts & Cultural Center.