Marybeth Kurnat (1987) is a rising voice in modern choral music. Her debut work, Epitaph For A Romantic Woman, was premiered by the St. Charles Singers in October 2021. Her SATB work, I, Lover, was the 2021-22 winner of True Concord’s Stephen Paulus Emerging Composers’ Competition. She premiered her work, The Lagoon, as a 2023 Composition Fellow for the PREMIERE|Project Festival. 

Eight of Marybeth’s new choral works received world premieres throughout 2023 in Illinois, California, Arizona, and Louisiana, and six more will be premiered throughout 2024 and 2025 by high school, collegiate and professional ensembles. She has been commissioned by soprano Elizabeth Shuman, Chicago Choral Artists, Baker Memorial Church of St. Charles, The Giving Voices Collective, Northern Illinois University School of Music, the Spectra Singers, and DeKalb High School.

Described as “transcendent” and “otherworldly,” Marybeth's compositional voice is strongly influenced by her musical roots as a jazz saxophonist - most clearly illustrated in her colorful, adventurous harmonic vocabulary and unique command of rhythm. She has received especially high praise for her piano writing. Her compositional influences include Brad Mehldau, Wayne Shorter, Jacob Collier, Rollo Dilworth, and Stephen Paulus. Her arranging portfolio also includes music for jazz ensemble, concert band, chamber music, string orchestra, and commercial a cappella.

Marybeth holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Northern Illinois University, where she studied voice with Diane Ragains and saxophone with Steve Duke. She has taught in Illinois public schools since 2011, and currently serves as a vocal and instrumental music educator for the DeKalb School District. She is a District 8 Representative for the Illinois Music Education Association. She was a Student Composition Track clinician at the 2024 ILMEA All-State Festival, and will return to that post in January 2025. She has also presented professional development to music educators on integrating composition into the secondary music classroom.

In addition to teaching and composing, Marybeth writes poetry, and maintains an active performance schedule as a choral singer and soprano soloist in the greater Chicago area. She regularly appears with the St. Charles Singers, Chicago Choral Artists, and the Grant Park Music Festival Chorus. She is a member of ACDA, AGMA, and ILMEA.

Marybeth is an ASCAP-registered composer and publisher, and her music is available for purchase on MusicSpoke.