John Sears Media
Kyle resides in Dallas, Texas working as a freelance percussionist and dance musician. Prior to his time in Dallas he lived in Durham NC where worked with the North Carolina Theatre, North Carolina Brass Band, and Theatre Raleigh. Before Durham he lived in New York City and made his New York debut performing the world premier of Edo Frenkel’s There is nothing (but they) outside: 1. missa brevis at The Spectrum. He has performed with the Radio City Rockettes Orchestra beginning in 2013, the Grammy Award Winning cast of Hamilton: An American Musical, The Chelsea Music Festival and at esteemed venues such as Madison Square Garden, Le Poisson Rouge, and The Blue Note. He has worked for Keigwin+Company, Doug Varone and Dancers, and as modern dance accompanist at Ballet Hispanico, Marymount Manhattan College, Hofstra University, Peridance Center, 92nd Street Y, The New School, The Limon School and Juilliard. He was on faculty at Hofstra University and Westchester Community College from 2015-2018. He is also a regular member with Gallant Entertainment Inc and the Patriot Brass Ensemble.
He received his Doctor of Musical Arts degree under the Direction of Dr. Norman Weinberg at The University of Arizona in 2018 with his research focusing on dance choreography notation as it relates to the gestural-based percussion compositions of Wayne Siegel, Casey Cangelosi and Mark Applebaum. While at the University of Arizona he also received his Masters of Music degree and served as the Director of The Rosewood Marimba Band and a Graduate Teaching Assistant to the Dance Department as Modern Dance Percussion Accompanist. Prior to attending the University of Arizona he received his Bachelors of Music degree at Concordia College – Moorhead while studying with Dr. David P. Eyler.
Kyle performs regularly in Atlas Percussion with percussionists Scott Shinbara and Alex Wier and Ensemble 520 with Mark Cook. He has performed at the National Conference on Percussion Pedagogy (NCPP), the Society of Electro Acoustic Music In the United State (SEAMUS), the Bob McCormick Marimba Festival, the Percussive Arts Society’s International Convention (PASIC), the International Festival of Percussion at the Conservatorio de Musica in San Juan Puerto Rico, the Minnesota Day of Percussion (MNPAS), the Nebraska Day of Percussion (NEPAS), and the Omaha-Under The Radar Festival. And in 2009 he performed the North American Premier of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Linker Augentanz at the North American Saxophone Alliance's convention.
He spent the summer of 2012 creating a sound-scape of Manhattan in accordance with the chance operations found in the sketches and notebooks of John Cage’s A Dip in the Lake found in the Cage Trust Archives at the New York Public Library. The Soundscape concluded in collaboration with respected Dance Choreographer Douglass Nielson in honor of the John Cage/Merce Cunningham collaboration and in recognition of Cage’s 100th birthday. In 2006 and 2007, he studied traditional Drumming, Dance, and Gyil performance with world-renowned Master Drummer Bernard Woma and Master Drummer Dancer Sulley Imoro. He has also performed with the Saakumu Drum and Dance Troupe both in Ghana and California.
Kyle is proud to have published 4 articles in Percussive Notes and his percussion ensemble arrangements can be found at Elision Publications. He also serves on the Dance Notation Bureau’s Professional Advisory Board.
Kyle is proud to represent and have industry support from Vic Firth, Gallant Entertainment Inc. and Alternate Mode Inc.
He is thankful for many of his teachers including Dr. Norman Weinberg, Dr. David Eyler, Bob Becker, Bernard Woma, Matthew Altmire, and Dr. Steven Makela.
If you are interested in his work refurbishing and repairing vintage drum and percussion equipment please visit The Drum Refurb Shoppe!