Kirk Garner was born in Santa Monica, California at approximately 5:30 PM on July 26, 1981. He was raised primarily in the suburban greater Los Angeles area and the greater San Diego area. He began singing and studying music during his sophomore year at Palomar College in San Marcos, California, just before going on to acquire his Bachelor's degree in Computing and the Arts at the University of California, San Diego. His experiences there in computer music and composition led him to continue his studies at Mills College in the Electronic Music and Recording Media MFA program. Coming from a family of scientists, his natural propensity for analytical thinking and deductive reasoning has played a prominent role in the development of his compositional style. This cerebral edge is tempered by the drive toward emotional expression that a love of classical singing has cultivated within him.