Kyle Orth
Hailed as a pianist of unusual virtuosity and artistic sensitivity, Kyle Orth is praised by audiences and critics alike. Born in 1990 in Fountain Valley, California, Mr. Orth began studying the piano at the age of 8. He is currently pursuing his undergraduate degree in Piano Performance at Texas Christian University (TCU) as a student of John Owings. He is attending the university with a full-tuition scholarship, being a recipient of several music and academic awards, including the School of Music’s Nordan Young Artist Award. Mr. Orth also receives regular coaching from Dr. Yoheved Kaplinsky of the Juilliard School.
Since Mr. Orth’s orchestral debut at the age of fifteen, he has soled with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, the Richardson Symphony Orchestra, the Lewisville Lake Symphony, the Houston High School for Performing and Visual Arts Orchestra, and on several occasions with the Plano Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Hector Guzman. Stephanie Allmon of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram admiringly reviewed his debut with Miguel Harth-Bedoya and the Fort Worth Symphony: “Orth, a piano phenom from Richardson, channeled the virtuosity of Franz Liszt in his haunting fantasy Totentanz (“Dance of Death”). During one of Orth’s spine-tingling, melodic piano solos, the crowd fell nearly silent….The audience rewarded him with a standing ovation and a curtain call, as if to say, rightly, that they look forward to a big career.” Mr. Orth holds upcoming performance engagements with the TCU Symphony Orchestra and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra.
An avid competitor, Mr. Orth has acquired over twenty first-place wins in local, national, and international music competitions. He was named National First-Place Winner in the prestigious Music Teachers National Association (MTNA) Yamaha Senior Piano Competition. Other triumphs include three consecutive First Prizes at the annual Student Affiliate of the Texas Music Teacher’s Association State Performance Contests, First Prize at the Dallas Symphony Orchestra Lynn Harrell Concerto Competition, First Prize at the Lennox International Young Artist’s Competition, Grand Prize at the TASO Juanita Miller Concerto Competition, and First Prize in the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra Young Artist Competition. He also received top prizes in the Kingsville International Young Performers Competitions.
Mr. Orth has performed for music groups such as the Fine Arts Chamber Players (at their Basically Beethoven Festival), PianoTexas International Academy and Festival, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra League, Pro Musica of Dallas, and Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity. In addition to attending PianoTexas International Academy as a Young Artist, he participated in the Texas Conservatory for Young Artists from 2005-2007. Mr. Orth has been broadcasted on WRR, classical 101.1 in Dallas. Mr. Orth has been invited to perform on numerous occasions for the Van Cliburn Foundation’s Musical Awakenings® Program, and was recently asked to return for more performances in January 2010.
Over the years, Mr. Orth has performed in master classes with many world-renowned piano artist/teachers, including Julian Martin, Robert McDonald, Douglas Humphreys, Olga Kern, Barry Snyder, and Robert Weirich. Mr. Orth’s own past teachers were Marcy McDonald, Alex McDonald, and Justin Proffitt.
Apart from his classical music studies, Mr. Orth enjoys reading, writing, music composition, and English Country Dancing. He is also involved in the Messianic community. Mr. Orth currently resides in Richardson, Texas, with his parents, Erik and Brenda Orth, and his three younger siblings.
