I am a composer and teacher currently on the musicianship and composition faculties of both the San Francisco Conservatory’s Prep Division and the Crowden School in Berkeley. I also maintain a private teaching studio in Oakland, California.

Before getting my Master of Music at the San Francisco Conservatory in 1996, I studied at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary for three years (1989-1992). I am a committed fan of the Hungarian system for teaching musical literacy known in this country as the Kodály Method, and use it in every aspect of my teaching, whether it's composition or ear training. I learned advanced solfège in a Kodály context with Sean Deibler in Philadelphia, and more recently with Judit Hartyányi at Holy Names University's Kodály Center.

The following is my composition bio.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michael Kaulkin has over twenty years of experience as a professional composer of works for chorus, orchestra, film and the musical stage. His most recent orchestral work LETTER TO HUNGARY for string orchestra was commissioned by the Hungarian Chamber Symphony Orchestra and premiered in Budapest in 2005. The piece was given its U.S. premiere in 2007 by the Mission Chamber Orchestra. Chamber works include the 2009 string quartet work CITY WALKS and AMERICAN STANDARD for clarinet and piano, which is popular with clarinetists around the world and included on a critically acclaimed CD of American works for clarinet and piano called TIME PIECES on the British label Clarinet Classics, released in 2007.

A native of Washington, D.C., Michael Kaulkin earned his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied with Joseph Castaldo. He went on to further study at Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, where he remained for three years, studying composition with János Vajda and choral conducting with István Párkai. After returning from Budapest, he studied composition with Conrad Susa at the San Francisco Conservatory, where he received his Master of Music degree.