Kyle Gilner

Kyle was born and raised in Eagle Rock, California, where he started playing violin at the age of 13 in the public charter school, Renaissance Arts Academy. From there, he began playing in group classes and after-school orchestra rehearsals, where he gained his love of music making and ensemble playing. Having no prior experience with classical violin playing or any family members involved in the classical music world he quickly discovered that he wanted to pursue a career in classical violin performance. He began taking private lessons with Marissa McLeod, former 2nd Violinist of the Anderson String Quartet, followed by Guido Lamell, the former Section 2nd Violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Kyle currently holds degrees from both the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, where he studied with Henry Gronnier, as well as the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with former Concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra, William Preucil. He has participated in masterclasses with the Schubert Ensemble of London, Takacs Quartet, Cavani Quartet, Laredo-Robinson Trio, Jinjoo Cho, Keith Robinson, William Preucil, Peter Salaff, Anita Pontremoli, Jan Sloman, Jaime Laredo, Sharon Robinson, Danish String Quartet, St. Lawrence String Quartet, Kathryn Brown, Arnold Steinhardt, and Tien-Hsin Cindy Wu. He has attended music festivals such as the National Repertory Orchestra, National Orchestral Institute, Brevard Music Center, Vermont Mozart Festival, and the St. Lawrence String Quartet Seminar.

Because of his love and passion for ensemble-based playing, Kyle is currently a member of Delirium Musicum, a conductor-less string orchestra that presents classical standard repertoire reimagined for string orchestra, as well as works by living contemporary composers. Most recently, he joined the Santa Barbara Symphony as a rotating Section Violinist. He is a part of a professional competition-winning string quartet named the Zelter String Quartet which won the First Prize of the Plowman Chamber Competition and the Gold medal prize in the International Chesapeake Chamber Music Competition.

He currently plays on a 2010 copy of a Tommaso Balestrieri violin made by Los Angeles-based luthier Eric Benning. When not playing on his gorgeous instrument, Kyle loves to listen to podcasts, hike, weight train, and cook Italian-based dishes.