John Kilgore is a three-time Grammy-winning and Emmy-nominated recording engineer, sound designer and producer.

 

He won a Grammy in 2015 for best engineered album - Classical for Ask Your Mama - 12 Moods for Jazz, composed by Laura Karpman.

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He won a Grammy in 2019 for best engineered album - Classical for Sun Rings, composed by Terry  Riley and performed by the Kronos Quartet.

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He won a grammy in 2022 for mixing the New York Youth Symphony's debut recording: Works by Florence Price, Jessie Montgomery, Valerie Coleman

 

He was nominated for an Emmy in 2020 for his work recording and mixing the musical number for John Oliver's Last Week Tonight episode on SLAPP suits.

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His recording credits include nearly every work by Steve Reich since The Cave, including City Life, Proverb, Nagoya Marimbas as well as new recordings of Music for 18 Musicians (1999 Grammy Award), New York Counterpoint, Four Organs and Eight Lines. He has also recorded and mixed Triple Quartet with the Kronos Quartet, both The CD and DVD of Three Tales, You Are (Variations), Cello Counterpoint, Daniel Variations, Variations for Vibraphones, Stings and Pianos, 2x5. Mallet Quartet and Pulse. He mixed the recordings of Double Sextet and Quartet.

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He has recorded and mixed all of the work of Charlie Rosen's 8 Bit Big Band, as well as multiple projects with Charlie since 2013.

 

He mixed the New York Philharmonic's recording of John Adams' On the Transmigration of Souls, which won three Grammys in 2005 and recorded and mixed Adams' 2011 recording of Son of Chamber Symphony with The International Contemporary Ensemble.

 

He has recorded Dexter Gordon, James Moody, Woody Shaw, Gil Evans' Orchestra, Big Mama Thornton, The Brooklyn Philharmonic, DNA, Julius Baker, Richard Goode, Richard Stolzman, The Empire Brass Quintet, the American Brass Quintet and Ervin Nyiregyhazi to name just a few.

 

Sound designs for theater include numerous designs on Broadway, as well as the Manhattan Theatre Club, Classic Stage Company, Soho Rep, the Public Theater and the La Jolla Playhouse, among many others.

 

He has been resident composer for Pooh Kaye's Eccentric Motions Dance Company since 1983, and has provided scores for many pieces, as well as Ms. Kaye's films Sticks on the Move, House of Floating Paper, Swept Up, Wake Up Call, The Painted Princess and her most recent film, Spring Cleaning.

 

He has been composer, behind-the-scenes performer and musical director for Len Jenkin's Dream Express since its inception nearly 30 years ago. Along with Len Jenkin, he is founder of The MoonGlow Theatre of the Air, and is producing, directing, recording and providing music and sound design for Len's episodic radio play, Stella Maris, an Entertainment.

 

John served as Director of Recording Services for Masque Sound & Recording from 1986 to 2005, when he formed John Kilgore Sound & Recording to take over Masque's studio operations. Since then, the studio has hosted the recordings of a broad spectrum of well-known and respected composers, songwriters, performers and musicians from around the world. 

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Discography at Discogs 

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Discography at AllMusic

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Curriculum Vitae

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1967-1969 Apostolic Studios NYC Apprentice, engineer, night manager, staff producer. As an apprentice, he observed Frank Zappa as he made four albums at Apostolic: We’re Only In It For The Money, Lumpy Gravy, Uncle Meat and Ruben and the Jets. His very first album, George and Ben: Boa Constrictor and a Natural Vine, which he produced and engineered for the Vanguard/Apostolic label, has become a cult classic.

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1969 -1971 Boston, MA. Independent academic study. Music study with Garby Leon and Josiah Adams. Spent the summer of 1970 at Tonus factory beta testing the ARP 2500 synthesizer prior to its release. Taught guitar in Roxbury to inner city kids.

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1971-1974 Finished undergraduate degree at Hampshire College Amherst, MA. Studied composition with James McElwaine and Randall McClellan. Was chief engineer at Hampshire Electronic Music Studio. Worked for Electronic Music Studios of America as resident composer.

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1974 — 1976 Staff engineer for Vanguard Records, NYC.

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1976 — 1979 Chief Engineer, Desmar Records.

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1979 — 1982 Freelance engineer.

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1982 Public Theater NYC — Audio Master — The Death of Von Richthofen as Witnessed from Earth, written and directed by Des McAnuff

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1982 —1984 Staff engineer Public Theater NYC.

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1983 — 1990 Resident Sound Designer, La Jolla Playhouse, La Jolla CA

 

1986 — 2005 - Director of Recording Services, Masque Sound NYC

2005 — July 2023 - Owner/operator, John Kilgore Sound & Recording at 630 Ninth Ave. Suite 307 in NYC

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July 2023 — present operating John Kilgore Sound & Recording at 130 West 29th St. 6th Floor, New York NY 10001

 

Sound Designs for theatre, a partial listing:

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The Visions of Simone Machard - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Peter Sellars
A Mad World My Masters - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff
Romeo and Juliet - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff
As You Like It - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff (S.D. Critics' Circle Award).

London Assurance - Old Globe Theatre, directed by Jack O'Brien (Dramalogue Award)

The Seagull - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff
Big River - Eugene O'Neill Theater, directed by Des McAnuff - Sound Effects Design

Big River - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff - Sound Design

Merrily We Roll Along - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by James Lapine
Shout Up A Morning - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff
The Comedy of Errors (with the Flying Karamazov Brothers)- Vivian Beaumont Theater, directed by Robert Woodruff
Down The Road - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff (S.D. Critics' Circle Award)
Romance in Hard Times - NY Shakespeare Festival, directed by David Warren
Up Against It - NY Shakespeare Festival, directed by Ken Elliot, music by Todd Rundgren
The Kathy and Mo Show - West Side Arts Theater, directed by Paul Benedict

Starmites - The Criterion Center Stage Right, directed by Larry Carpenter
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Des McAnuff
Life During Wartime - La Jolla Playhouse, directed by Les Waters
Life During Wartime - Manhattan Theater Club, directed by Les Waters
The Stick Wife - Manhattan Theater Club, directed by David Warren

A Piece of My Heart - Manhattan Theater Club
Candide, adapted by Len Jenkin - Classic Stage Company, directed by Carrie Perloff and David Esbjornsen

Buddy - National Tour - Sound Design (Robby Award Nomination)
Spoleto Festival USA - Festival Sound Design 1991 & 1992
Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet - Classic Stage Company, directed by David Esbjornsen
Joined at the Head - Manhattan Theater Club, directed by Pamela Berlin
A Christmas Carol (1992, 1993) - Huntington Theater Company, directed by Larry Carpenter
The Years - Manhattan Theater Club, directed by Jack Hofsiss
Aven'U Boys - John Houseman Theater directed by Fred Zollo
Busted/The Heartsick Pioneer - John Drew Theater directed by Tim Hutton

Snowing At Delphi - WPA Theater directed by Pam Berlin
Careless Love - Soho Repertory Theater, written and directed by Len Jenkin
Day Standing On Its Head - Manhattan Theater Club, directed by Oskar Eustis

Dracula - by Mac Wellman, at Soho Repertory Theater, directed by Julian Webber

The Dream Express - (musical direction) at CSC, written and directed by Len Jenkin

A Fair Country - by John Robin Baitz, at Naked Angels, directed by David Warren

Swoop - by Mac Wellman, at Soho Repertory Theater, directed by Julian Webber

Love! Valour! Compassion! - by Terrence McNally at Manhattan Theatre Club, Broadway and Los Angeles (Ovation Award Nomination), directed by Joe Mantello

Iolanthe - Huntington Theatre, directed by Larry Carpenter
Tartuffe: Born Again - Circle in the Square, directed by David Saint
Boys in the Band - WPA and Lucile Lortell Theatre, directed by Ken Elliot
Flipping My Wig - WPA, directed by Ken Elliot
The Red Address - Second Stage, directed by Pam Berlin
Psychopathia Sexualis - Manhattan Theatre Club, directed by Dan Sullivan
Another Part of the House - Classic Stage Company, directed by David Esbjornsen

Mud/Drowning - Signature Theatre Company, directed by David Esbjornsen

Manhattan Theatre Club Spring Gala 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 - Sound Design
Times Square New Years Eve 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 - Produced by Times Square Business Improvement District
Times Square Millennium Celebration - 24 hours of sound and music in 16 channel surround. Produced by Times Square Business Improvement District. Production created by Geoff Puckett

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