KYLE WALKER, Piano teacher
Master of Music
Mannes College, The New School, New York
Bachelor of Music
East Carolina University
A strong advocate for social equality, critically-acclaimed pianist Kyle P. Walker believes music can speak to social issues better than verbal language can, the understanding of which he brings to both traditional Western repertoire and that of the living world-wide composers with whom he collaborates.
Highlights of this season include concerto, chamber, and solo appearances with the Colour of Music Festival, a solo recital tour throughout the East and West coast, and a Lincoln Center appearance alongside Miss America 2019.
As an advocate of social justice, Walker is a founding member and chamber music producer of The Dream Unfinished, an activist orchestra, and collective which supports NYC-based civil rights and community organizations through concerts and presentations.This season focuses on climate justice by featuring composers from communities recently and historically impacted by climate change.
Kyle performs with the group Sanctuary Project NYC. The ensemble, composed of classically trained musicians and dancers, creates original productions through a collaborative rehearsal process, centered around structured improvisation.
His performances have been featured on media broadcasts including WQXR’s Mcgraw Hill Financial Young Artists Showcase, NPR’s Public Radio East, and UNC-TV, to name a few. Recently, he made his solo debut at New York’s Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, performed the Schumann piano concerto with the East Carolina University Symphony Orchestra, as well as presenting solo performances at Steinway Hall NYC, The Queens Museum, The Great Hall at Cooper Union, The House of the Redeemer, National Opera America, The Metropolitan Opera Guild, Birmingham Jefferson Concert Hall in Alabama, and the innovative music and multimedia venue Spectrum NYC. His festival performances include the Tibor Varga Music Festival, Switzerland, The Four Seasons Chamber Music Festival, NC, The Ferrara Chamber Music Festival, VA, Enso String Quartet Chamber Music Festival, CT, the Beethoven Institute, NYC and PianoFest in the Hamptons, NY.
In 2013, Mr. Walker was awarded 1st prize winner of the Bradshaw and Buono International Piano Competition. He has also taken 1st prize in The National Talent Hunt of Omega Psi Phi, and the Greensboro Music Teachers Association Young Artist competitions.
He is a frequent collaborator in new music performance projects with living composers such as Vijay Iyer, John Link, Courtney Bryan, Brian Erickson, and Joan Szymko.
A dedicated teacher, Walker is on faculty of the 92nd Street Y and serves as director of piano at the Fort Lee School of Music. He has also co-presented with The Dream Unfinished at the Carnegie Hall Music Educator Workshop, speaking about building diverse curriculums for students, to include composers that look like communities in which they serve.
Kyle Walker received his Masters of Music from Mannes College, The New School for Music under the tutelage of Thomas Sauer. He holds a bachelor’s degree from East Carolina University in addition to a special degree from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts and has studied with Benjamin Hochman, Keiko Sekino, Henry Doskey, and Clifton Matthews. Walker has received generous support for his upcoming artistic endeavors from the Peter M. Gross Fund.
He is currently touring with a solo performance project entitled Bach to BlackNotes, which features works of J.S. Bach juxtaposed with the music of neglected composers of color who speak to issues of oppression and inequality.