Composer and conductor Kyle Wernke’s music is “imaginative and infectious” (Michael Schelle) and “exemplifies all that is right with quality new music” (Douglas Knehans). His work explores dynamic, tonal, and textural extremes - often in rapid succession. Wernke’s music has been performed across the United States and around the world. His 2017 orchestral tour de force Burst was recorded by the Brno Philharmonic Orchestra for Ablaze Records’ “Orchestral Masters Vol. 6.” Burst went on to be performed by the Tampa Bay Symphony and the Musique en Seine Orchestra in Paris, France. Burst also won the American Prize in Orchestral Composition in 2022.

His 2021 Pulitzer Prize nominated cantata, Da Vinci at the River, was commissioned by Missouri University of Science and Technology in honor of the university’s 150th Anniversary. Kyle was an Assistant Professor of Music, Director of Orchestras, and Composer-in-Residence at Missouri S&T from 2017-2024.

Wernke is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, PA. At Lehigh he directs the Lehigh University Philharmonic Orchestra and teaches courses in composition, music history, and music theory. He lives in Allentown, PA with his wife, violist Lauren Perala; their dogs Luna and Buttercup; and cats, Pearl, and Sawadee.

Wernke’s music is published through the American Composers Alliance and Just a Theory Press.