Native to the Midwest, Kyle has made his home in the musical community of Las Vegas since 2010. His residence in the Entertainment Capital has been a catalyst for many successes both locally and internationally. Kyle holds a Masters in Percussion Performance from the University of Nevada Las Vegas where he was privileged to study under Dr. Dean Gronemeier, Professors Emeritus Gary Cook and James Bailey, and world class percussionist and recording artist Kurt Rasmussen.
Kyle is currently the Associate Director of Bands at Bishop Gorman High School and the Elementary Music Coordinator for the Diocese of Las Vegas. He has also served as Front Ensemble Coordinator for the WGI Open Class ensemble, Vegas Vanguard, since 2015. His teaching within the Vegas community has made a noticeable impact—having staffed and significantly developed five high schools while consulting many others since 2011. His passion for growing both the young individuals and the percussion programs around the valley is encouraging others to adopt a collegial and positive approach to marching arts education.
In 2013, Kyle began taking his passion for music around the country and world where he was invited by Tim Palmer, of Maraca2, to serve as an artist in residence and guest clinician at Liberty Drum Corps in England. He participated the Percussive Arts Society Summer Drum Camp in Adelaide, South Australia in 2014 as both a performer and clinician among the likes of Nebojsa Zivkovic, Jeff Moore, Ted Atkatz, and others.
Kyle serves as an adjudicator for annual marching competitions in his home state of Kansas, has performed at the International Ragtime Festival in Illinois, PASIC, and multiple excursions to the Death Valley region of California. Kyle was also invited as an honorary alum with the UNLV Percussion Division to perform at the International Marimba Festival in Tabasco Mexico in September of 2017.
Locally, Kyle has performed regularly with the Vegas Vanguard Entertainment Drumline at major nightlife venues such as Hakkasan and OMNIA nightclubs where he has opened for and highlighted the performances of DJ/Producers Tiesto, Calvin Harris, Steve Aoki, as well as performances at the annual Electric Daisy Carnival. He regularly performs with the Los Angeles-based talent agency, E Plus Productions, where he has shared the stage with the Blue Man Group, drummed while suspended from chandeliers, and atop 30-foot scaffolding!
Kyle can be heard on three professionally recorded albums Lost Vegas, Ventanas, and The Return with the Grammy nominated UNLV Wind orchestra under Thomas G. Leslie. On the album, The Return, Kyle was privileged to share the stage with artists such as Bernie Dresel, Eric Marienthal, and Ted Atkatz.
Kyle was privileged to associate his professional endeavors with the Vic Firth Education Team from 2013 to 2017 and is currently developing his own classical percussion and marching show design/publication company containing works of his own and others. Through Soundprairie Publications, he has officially self-published two of his own works for solo marimba and a book by his former professor, Dr. Dean Gronemeier. Most notably, Kyle was recently published as a contributing author to percussionist and author Gary D. Cook’s fourth edition of Teaching Percussion.
Kyle deploys an immense gratefulness for his mentors and educators and attributes many of his successes and professional momentum to everyone from his high school band and percussion directors, through college, and his legendary teachers Thom Hannum, Nick Angelis, Jim Ancona and Jeff Lee at the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps in 2011. It is with these amazing people who have impacted his life as a performer and educator that drives him to continue sharing knowledge and a belief in the sounds we make and the amazing and life-changing impact they can make on others.