Victor Zupanc

Victor Zupanc, born in Canada, began his musical career studying violin and piano at the age of six at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Victoria, British Columbia. After receiving his Bachelor of Music Degree at the University of Victoria he went on to earn his Masters Degree in Music Composition at the University of California at San Diego in 1983.

Since 1983 Mr. Zupanc has been involved in over 200 theatrical productions as composer, musical director, sound designer and performer. He has worked at some of the most respected theaters in the country including The La Jolla Playhouse, The San Diego Rep, The Missouri Rep, The Kennedy Center, The Berkeley Rep; in New York, The Brooklyn Academy of Music, The Joyce Theater, Playwright's Horizons and The New Victory Theater; in Minneapolis, The Guthrie Theater, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, The Jungle Theatre and The Mixed Blood Theater. His music has been heard abroad in China, Japan, South America, Great Britain, Spain, France, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Artists that Mr. Zupanc has worked with include Des McAnuff, Robert Woodruff, Ann Bogart, Joe Dowling, Nilo Cruz, Graciela Daniele, Kevin Kling, Bill Irwin, Stephen Sondheim, Randy Newman and David Byrne.

Mr. Zupanc is a two time recipient of The Theater Critics Circle Award for his theater scores (A Man's A Man, director: Robert Woodruff and Nineteen Fifty One, director: Ann Bogart) and was twice awarded with a Hollywood DramaLogue Award for his work, most notably for the acclaimed New York production of Romulus Linney's Holy Ghost!

In 1989 he accepted and still retains the position of Music Director/Composer at the Tony Award winning Children's Theater Company of Minneapolis (CTC). At CTC, Mr. Zupanc composes scores and conducts orchestras comprised of the finest professional musicians in the country.

Since 1990 Mr. Zupanc has been invited to compose, lecture and conduct orchestras in South America, China and Japan. He has received numerous grants including McKnight, Jerome and Otto Bremer Foundations. He was a 2005 Bush Foundation Artist Fellow. In 2004 he was Composer-In-Residence with the renowned vocal group, The Rose Ensemble who featured Mr. Zupanc on their CD, Road to Compostela. In 2005 Innova Records released a CD of his ballet, Sun and Moon. His theme music can also be heard weekly on the MPR program, Krista Tippet on Being. He frequently tours performing his original composition titled For the Birds, featuring himself with new music ensemble Zeigeist and acclaimed storyteller Kevin Kling.

Mr. Zupanc has scored several films including The Operator, by Jon Dichter, which has screened worldwide and is available on DVD. This film and others have been critically acclaimed at numerous film festivals including Sundance, Los Angeles International Film Festival, GenArt in New York, South By SouthWest, Santa Barbara International Film Festival, San Diego Latino Film Festival and the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival. .Victor lives by a lake in Minneapolis with his wife Dianne and two daughters, Luisa and Lydia.