Gay Kahkonen earned her degree in music composition from Oberlin Conservatory where she studied with Edward Miller, Randy Coleman, Michael Daugherty, and Elizabeth Hinkle-Turner. She attended Aspen Music Festival where she studied with Michael Czajkowski. She has received commissions from the Renaissance City Woman's Choir, the Pittsburgh Flute Club, the PM Woodwind Project, Parasky Flute Studio, the Melago-Laubenthal Duo, Wendy Webb Kumer Flute Studio, and Pittsburgh Performance du Jour.  She composed music for a stage production of Death of a Salesman at Pittsburgh Public Theater. For over twenty  years, Gay taught flute lessons in Washington County, Pennsylvania, served as a marching band coach, and directed the Canon-McMillan High School and the Trinity High School flute choirs.  Her compositions are self-published and are distributed by Flute World.  Gay resides in Pittsburgh, PA.