Composer • Pianist • Educator

“Ciach was the composer most intent upon letting his imagination run wild all over the music, but he also had the strongest sense of how to create layers of sounds.”

—Rob Hubbard, Pioneer Press

“In watching his performance and hearing the way [his third piano sonata] was composed, it was obvious that [Ciach] had a deep personal connection with each note that he played.”

—Aaron Ziegler, Rising: Contemporary Music at UI

“…a name you will be hearing much of in the not-too-distant future.”

—Bernard Jacobson, Seen & Heard International

Composer Brian Ciach (pronounced “SIGH-ack”) creates at the nexus of classical rigor and experimental curiosity. Holding a Doctor of Music from Indiana University, his mosaic-style compositions reflect a wide-reaching musical palette, intentionally blurring stylistic lines to achieve a modern, interdisciplinary balance.

Whether he’s completing Bach’s Art of Fugue or improvising on a Seaboard through custom Max/MSP patches, Brian approaches music as an evolving playground. His "Pandemic Sonatine" — written for piano, face masks, and a Covid card — perfectly captures his knack for turning the cultural zeitgeist into compelling art. 

The Sound & The Stage

Brian’s music has echoed through some of the world’s most prestigious venues, from the Teatro Dal Verme in Milan to St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London. His orchestral works, like the award-winning Collective Uncommon: Seven Orchestral Studies on Medical Oddities, have been brought to life by world-class ensembles like the Minnesota Orchestra and Alarm Will Sound. 

As a pianist, he is as comfortable premiering his own "Phoenix" Sonata as he is releasing albums of high-concept piano improvisations based on musical intervals or arrangements of polymetric, polytonal hymns.

Innovation in the Classroom

Currently a Lecturer at San José State University, Brian is a 2023 Outstanding Lecturer Award nominee. He’s known for: 

  • Helping students “fall back in love with music and its strange wonders <3.” [quote and heart found on a recent student exam]

  • Deconstructing the Canon: Revising curriculum to blend student musical icons with the European masters. 

  • Tech-Forward Pedagogy: Using Logic Pro to help students design practical projects like custom ringtones or Dorico for theory class chorale compositions.

  • Community Concerts: Showcasing student compositions as a Seaboard improvisor in the Downtown Soundscapes faculty chamber concert or improvising on harpsichord while a faculty poet recites their poetry in the Spontaneous Combustion concert series.

Accolades

  • First Prize (International Award): American Liszt Society Bicentennial Composition Competition (shared with Gilad Cohen). 

  • First Prize (National Awards): The American Prize in Composition (Orchestra & Vocal Chamber Music). 

Arrangement of two simultaneous hymns (polytonality) in the piano prelude, Polyhymnia: Muse of Sacred Hymns:

Arrangement of an Adhan أذََان (Call to Prayer) in the piano prelude, Polyhymnia: Muse of Sacred Hymns:

שיר למעלות (Song of Ascents) arranged for piano:

Completing Bach:

Electro-acoustic music for piano and Seaboard:

Arrangement of a Hindu prayer song, Nav Durga Raksha Mantra, नव दुगा र􀀉ा मं, in the piano prelude, Polyhymnia: Muse of Sacred Hymns: