about

Kyle Brenn (he/him) is a New York City based composer, arranger/orchestrator, musician, actor, music director, music copyist, and sound designer whose work spans the worlds of contemporary music, theatre, jazz, and pop, often existing between them. He explores theatricality, process-based forms, and nuanced emotional investigation in his practice. Since graduating from NYU in 2020, where he studied with Michael Gordon, his string quartet with electronics Blossoming Like Crazy was performed at Carnegie Hall, and he was a composer fellow for the 2022 Bang on a Can Summer Music Festival at MASS MoCA. He maintains a number of ongoing collaborations in various capacities.

His one act hybrid music theatre piece the shape of a child received its premiere workshop in August 2021. He performed its opening movement “Still/Exist” on the Bang On A Can Marathon Online in June 2021, and developed the project during a residency at Avaloch Farm Music Institute in August 2022. His music has been performed and recorded by Ensemble Connect, Unheard-of Ensemble, Bearthoven, Bergamot Quartet, TACET(i) Ensemble, violinist Todd Reynolds, cellist Ashley Bathgate, percussionist Scott Deal, and upcoming projects with guitarist Joseph Ehrenpreis & pianist/curator Ariel Mo. Frequent collaborators include writer/director/filmmaker Alex Bush, playwright/composer/lyricist Beth Golison (including music direction/arranging/orchestration for mrs. rochester: an autobiography, a bold reimagining of Jane Eyre) and singer/songwriter Amelia Murray. Amelia’s upcoming debut album, with Kyle on drums, will be released in 2023.

Kyle’s relationship to the arts began in community theater, where he was encouraged to explore all aspects of the theatermaking process. As a young actor he appeared on Broadway in West Side Story and Leap of Faith, and as Tobias Ragg in Live From Lincoln Center’s 2014 national broadcast of Sweeney Todd, which featured the New York Philharmonic and Emma Thompson. His more recent acting credits include Next to Normal at the SoHo Playhouse (Gabe), Phil Kenner’s The Sun Club at Dixon Place (Russel), and an educational concert series with the Allentown Symphony Orchestra.

Kyle remains active as a performing musician in New York, playing drums for theatrical productions, cabarets, concerts, and with various bands. He participated as a performer fellow in the 2019 Sō Percussion Summer Institute at Princeton University. He works as a music copyist for JoAnn Kane Music Service, where he has led music preparation for Kimberly Akimbo on Broadway and Jeanine Tesori’s upcoming opera Grounded. Additionally, he offers freelance services in transcription, arrangement and music preparation. When not musicking, he’s cooking, baking, crafting, playing Minecraft (Creative Mode only), or daydreaming about flying like a bird.

He is a member of ASCAP, Actors’ Equity Association, SAG-AFTRA, and AFM Local 802. His concert works are published by Heritage Associates Music Publishers (ASCAP).