In 1991, he returned to school on a Graduate Teaching Assistantship at Middle Tennessee State University and completed his M.A. in trombone in 1993, studying trombone with Dr. David Loucky and composition with Dr. Thom Hutcheson.  He continued composition studies at the University of Colorado at Boulder under Dr. Luis Gonzalez, Dr. Richard Toensing and Joseph Lukasik.  He was awarded the Cecil Effinger Composition Fellowship in 1995 and completed his M.M. in composition in 1996.  In 1998, he composed God, The Artist Of Creation for SATB choir and organ on a commission from the St. Barnabas Episcopal Choir of Denver who had received a commissioning grant from the American Guild of Organists who held their national convention in Denver that year.  His 1999 trombone etude book,  20 Pieces in Changing Meters  (published by Puna Music in New Jersey) is endorsed by some of America's most respected trombone professors and is in use at several colleges.

Moving to Mississippi in 2002,  Ken  established his own ASCAP publishing firm, Kenvad Music.  He has received grants from the Mississippi Arts Commission and Mississippi Center for Nonprofits.  Among recent performances and commissions, the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in Biloxi, Mississippi commissioned Five Liturgical Settings For Mass.  This past January, Eugene, Oregon organist Christopher Wicks performed Kenís Quietudes for organ (2002) on the west coast.  Antiphonal Music for two trumpets was performed at the Southeastern Composers' League's 54th annual conference in March 2005 at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston featuring trumpeters Dr. Randall Sorensen and Dr. Marilynn Gibson. Quatandre for trombones was given its world premier by the New Orleans Trombone Choir under the direction of Milton Bush at the 34th annual International Trombone Festival 2005 in New Orleans.   Sapphire Kaleidoscope for solo piano was premiered by Rebecca McNair at the Society Of Composers national conference at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in October 2005. 

Working with electroacoustic music, Dark River for English Horn and Digital Media was premiered by Dr. Kelly Vanemann at Southeastern Composers' League 2006 conference at Converse College in Spartanburg, SC. Soufriere for flute and digital media received a world premier in 2006 by Sarah Schneider at the Society of Composers new music festival at Middle Tennessee State University at Murfreesboro. His 2007 CD release on Pattisan Records of ambient electronic music, Floating Galaxy, has found additional listeners through licensing. In addition to use on a music therapy CD release, several businesses licensed the CD to use as background music in their business establishments. In late 2007, Kenvad Music publshed his Notasonata for trombone and digital media.

Along with various grants, Ken was awarded the Mississippi Arts Commission's 2006-2007 Performing Artist Fellowship in Composition and was nominated to the Southern Arts Federations' SouthernArtistry.org artist registry.