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Kathrynn Lyle was born in 1955 and raised in Seattle, Washington. Her performance history includes classical music, jazz, cabaret, rock, blues, funk, world music, and multi-media. Early on she became proficient with the piano, violin, and bass clarinet. Her career as a composer and music director led her toward the field of education, following in the footsteps of both her parents.
As a composer and music teacher in the Oakland Public Schools for the past ten years, Kathrynn is currently Director of the Oakland Elementary MUSE Orchestra, a program of the Oakland East Bay Symphony. She composes concert pieces and solo ensemble material for students at over 15 area schools. Her compositions reflect the musical heritages of the over 66 ethnic groups represented in the school district. “I want to devote my musical talents to teaching children,” says Kathrynn. “The music I compose for student performance is taken from class activities. As the students learn concepts and techniques, I integrate their ideas into compositions.” Kathrynn was awarded the Keep Music Alive in Our Schools Award from The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation for her contribution to music education.
Among her recent compositions for the general public is a new opera-in-progress, “Letters Home,” excerpts of which were performed and recorded by noted tenor John Duykers at Cal Arts in Valencia, California. The opera is based on the book, Dear Miye, Letters Home from Japan (1939-1946), by Mary Tomita. The Los Angeles Times called it “tonal and emotionally engaging.” (Oct. 13, 2000) Excerpts of the opera are available on CD.
Kathrynn’s published works include the upcoming “12 Wings: 12 Pieces for Beginning Orchestra,” a collection of multi-cultural orchestra pieces to be published by KangarooLynx in 2003. Her composition for gamelan orchestra (flute, string, and percussion music originating in southeast Asia) is published by the American Gamelan Institute.
Film buffs may remember Kathrynn’s score for Samuael Topiary’s dance piece, “Atalanta,” a silent film accompanied by a live chamber orchestra. The film was featured at film festivals around the Bay Area, as well as in New York, Montreal, and Berlin. The San Francisco Bay Guardian’s review of the film score said, “Lyle’s score is rich and sophisticated, at all times supportive of the film, yet with its own distinct voice. . . . The score stands on its own.” (Feb. 17, 1999)
As a Seattle musician in the 1980s, Kathrynn led groups as a jazz pianist and co-founded and directed The Kit Kat Club (spoofing the famous club in “Cabaret”), a performance art cabaret based on the traditions of the 1880’s Parisian literary nightclub.
Kathrynn’s diverse music training is the foundation for her music style. She studied composition with Janice Giteck; West African master drumming with Obo Addy; and instrument building with Paul Dresher at the Cornish Institute in Seattle. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in music and technology from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington in 1984. She earned her Master’s Degree in composition from Mills College, Oakland, in 1988, where she received the prestigious Darius Milhaud Scholarship to study composition with Anthony Braxton, David Rosenboom, and Pauline Oliveros. She also attended the Center for Contemporary Music where she studied computer music, signal processing, and sound engineering, and studied and taught gamelan with Jodi Diamond.
Kathrynn’s compositions mix melodic line, harmonic progression, and polyrhythms contrasted with points of dissonance, acidulated textures, and polymetric musical phrases. Her music, which is aligned as much with impressionism as with improvisation, is facile, flexible, and fluent in its ability to capture the colorist capabilities of either solo or combinations of instruments. Says Kathrynn of her music: “I am inspired by juxtaposition and oddity. I use uplifting melodies, modalities, and rhythms to express the human experience.” |
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