Biography
"Kolby is a bright young composer who understands the voice well. His writing is fresh and his accompaniments are creative and beautiful."
- Dr. Jacob Narverud, composer -
Kolby Van Camp (b. 1999) is an American composer, conductor, vocalist, sports broadcaster, and recording artist. A native of Kansas, Van Camp attended Kansas State University where he graduated with his Bachelor of Music Composition and Bachelor of Music Education degrees in 2022. Van Camp has returned to Kansas State to continue his work as a sports broadcaster and radio personality, and will graduate with a Master of Science in Mass Communications in 2024.
As a singer, Van Camp has performed and recorded with professional ensembles such as the Tallgrass Chamber Choir and KC VITAS, and is an internationally award winning classical singer. As an operatic baritone, he has performed the roles the roles of Elder McLean in Carlisle Floyd’s Susannah and Signor Deluso in Thomas Pasatieri’s opera buffa in one act of the same name during his time at Kansas State University. Van Camp also performs regularly in orchestral and recital settings. He is a frequent collaborator with the Susanville Symphony, and has performed the the baritone solo in Mozart’s Requiem in D Minor, was a featured solo in Kansas State’s Missa Eclectica: Requiem for Our Time, and has performed in concert venues such as the Weill Recital Hall in the Carnegie Complex in New York City and the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts in Kansas City. Van Camp has also recorded and produced two albums: All-American, which is his first solo album, and Contemplation, a live compilation of art songs he has composed.
As a composer, Van Camp's works have been described as post-minimal and have been performed from the local to national level, most notably with his piece In Flanders Fields being performed by Allegro Choirs of Kansas City at the 2019 National ACDA convention in Kansas City. Van Camp also gave two recitals of his music, entitled An Evening of Art Song and Contemplation through Kansas State University in 2021. Van Camp primarily writes for voice, choir, and keyboard, but also has experience writing for strings, woodwinds, and multimedia projects such as films and podcasts.
Van Camp also enjoys a blossoming career in sports and radio broadcasting. In 2020, he was named “The Voice of the Saints” and produced and called play-by-play in a weekly internet radio broadcast for his high school alma mater’s 8-man football team in Topeka, Kansas. In 2021, Van Camp broke into collegiate sports broadcasting with his debut behind the microphone calling play-by-play for Kansas State Football on the university’s student radio station, Wildcat 91.9 FM. In his first year alone, his work as a sports broadcaster won him 1st Place in the "Sportscaster" category of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Student Awards and 2nd Place in the "Complete Sportscast by local station" category of the Kansas Association of Broadcasters Station Awards. Since then, Van Camp has risen through the ranks of the radio station being promoted to director of charitable giving, interim sports director for the summer of 2022, and is now the executive sports producer for the station. When not singing his signature touchdown calls, Van Camp can be heard on his sports talk show, Training Camp with Kolby Van Camp, and through the multimedia commercials he does for the station. Notably, the witty fundraising commercial, "Donate Now!" in which he is credited for his singing talents, has gone on to win 2nd place in the "medium market station promotion" category with the Kansas Association of Broadcasters, platinum at the Hermes Creative Awards (an international media competition), and has been awarded two silver Telly Awards.
When not concertizing, teaching, or broadcasting, Van Camp enjoys collecting pocket watches and is a whisk(e)y connoisseur, amassing a considerable private collection of bourbons, scotches, and more. Van Camp is currently a member of the Topeka Whiskey Society, the Maker’s Mark Ambassador Program, and is a newly minted Certified Bourbon Steward through the Stave and Thief Society – a distinction which allows him to pursue further certification towards the whisk(e)y equivalent of what would be a Master Sommelier in the wine community.