Kimberly Cole Luevano fulfills multiple callings in life: clarinet performer, chamber music collaborator, teacher/educator/advisor, university administrator, wife, mom, and daughter, amongst many other roles. With reviews such as “a most skillful artist” (Fanfare Magazine), “breathtaking…” (The Clarinet), “virtuosic tone and technique”(Tampa Bay Times), “exceptionally sensitive and introspective rendition” (The Clarinet), she has presented acclaimed solo and chamber performances, adjudicated, taught at festivals, and presented masterclasses on four continents. Former students have been prize-winners in international competitions and occupy performing and teaching positions throughout North America. Currently Professor of Clarinet and Chair of the Division of Instrumental Studies in the College of Music at the University of North Texas, Luevano relishes her work with UNT’s diverse, talented students and colleagues. Luevano joined the UNT faculty in 2011, taught at the Interlochen Arts Camp for nine years, and has served the International Clarinet Association as Pedagogy Chair and coordinator of their High School Competition. With pianist Midori Koga and soprano Lindsay Kesselman, she forms the trio, Haven.
Haven received grants in 2021 from both the Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Fund and the Barlow Foundation to partner with composers in the creation of new works for the trio. Their recording of David Biendenbender’s “All we are given we cannot hold” was released in July 2023. Haven also released their recording, Twinge, in 2019. Luevano recorded William Bolcom’s Clarinet Concerto in 2022 for the GIA label with Eugene Migliaro Corporon and the North Texas Wind Symphony. GIA also released their recording of Michael Daugherty’s Brooklyn Bridge in 2016. Luevano’s recordings on the Fleur de Son label, Bright Angel (2013) and Atonement (2015), received critical acclaim and were considered in the Grammy nomination process. World premiere recordings with TrioPolis, TrioPolis One, were released on the Fleur de Son label in 2017. Numerous chamber recordings are also available on the Centaur and Albany labels.
Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, Luevano studied in Paris, France as a Fulbright Scholar. She earned degrees at Michigan State University and the University of North Texas and is immensely grateful to her mentors, Elsa Ludewig-Verdehr, James Gillespie, and Keith Lemmons. Prior to her appointment at the UNT, she was Professor of Clarinet at Eastern Michigan University for fifteen years. Luevano plays and endorses Selmer Paris instruments and is a D’Addario and Company Performing Artist. She resides in Corinth, Texas with her husband and savors time spent with her two college-aged sons and spirited border collie.
