T R I S T A N M c G E H E E
C O N D U C T O R | C O M P O S E R
TRISTAN McGEHEE (they/them, b. 1999) is an award-winning composer, conductor, and violinist from Kansas City. They hold a M.M. Music Composition (2025) and a B.M. in both Music Composition and Music Theory (2023) from the University of Kansas. McGehee’s leadership positions as a multifaceted musician included being President of the Kansas New Music Guild, Music Director/Founder of the Bluestem Chamber Orchestra, concertmaster of the KU University Orchestra, and first violinist of the Vertigo String Quartet. McGehee’s original compositions have been described as lush, deeply emotional, and ambitious in scale. Beyond concert halls, their works have been featured on the stage (ballet) and screen (films/video games). Various awards they have won include the Eugene and Mary Mingle Scholarship, the Morton and Elizabeth Green Award, and the 2022 George Lawner Prize for original orchestral composition. As a conductor, McGehee’s philosophies of promoting underrepresented composers can be seen in their commissions of other non-binary composers.
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“AWAKENING: a symphonic poem for large orchestra in one movement”
symphony orchestra | 2025 | 26’
A symphonic poem invoking the complex inner dialogue of queer youth faced with the harsh reality of a conservative, religious world (M.M. Composition thesis work).
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Symphonic Celebration dispersion of light to be Premiered by the KU Symphony Orchestra
Inspired by the journey by which light passes through a prism and disperses itself into a kaleidoscope of colors, this latest orchestra piece by Tristan McGehee wins the distinguished 2022 George Lawner Prize - earning a world premiere performance by the American-Prize-winning University of Kansas’s own Symphony Orchestra. Recording soon to be released on SoundCloud!