My name is Corey Stark – I started writing music when I was 13 and I was not very good at it.
Since then, I’ve become slightly better and I hope you can enjoy what I’ve come up with.
Here’s my fancy 3rd-person bio:
Corey Stark is a multi-award winning NJ/NY based artist who has worked across many disciplines, from concert music to film scoring to theatrical productions. His orchestral piece, Mantis Overture, won the Ithaca College Orchestral Composition Competition (’24) and was performed by the IC Symphony Orchestra. Further, Stark won the prestigious Louis Smadbeck Composition Award (’25) as well as “Best Score” at the Ithaca College Film Festival (’24) for his work on Blossom.
Stark has been commissioned for numerous orchestration projects to aid in programming concerts honoring African-American spiritual traditions led by Dr. Baruch Whitehead and the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers. Notably, this includes orchestrating Rev. Dr. Lena McLin’s The Christmas Cantata. In addition, he worked on two Dillingham Center for Theater and Dance productions, composing original themes for Let the Right One In and Stupid F##ing Bird.
With a firm belief in composer-performer collaboration, Stark has worked closely with distinguished ensembles such as the Alinéa Ensemble and the Talea Ensemble. As part of Ithaca College’s “Composing in Schools” program, he worked with students at Caroline Elementary to write an original piece for their 5th-grade chorus, helping them craft lyrics and explore musical storytelling.
Corey Stark’s compositional philosophy strives to create modern sounds while reinterpreting traditions and conventions, intertwining classical and contemporary music. With rich roots in jazz, Stark’s studies blend that practice with classical canon, creating poignant and robust harmony and rhythms. The composer takes pride in his eager inclination to explore new territories and innovative approaches. His career has involved studies alongside celebrated world-class composers including Evis Sammoutis, Jorge Grossman, Rodrigo Bussad, and Sally Lamb-McCune.
Beyond the compositional stage, Stark has a keen interest in engraving and publication. He currently serves as the personal braille music transcriber for renowned soprano Ju Hyeon Han. Stark is also employed at Playbook – a music education software company rethinking the way we approach music education for children. Roles include curriculum design and copyist work.