Described by the great guitarist Eliot Fisk as “A sensitive and poetic soul,” Dan Kyzer is making his mark on the music world as an artist and educator. Dan began studying the guitar with Dr. John Ingwerson at Hinds Community College just outside his hometown of Jackson, MS. He continued his studies with Dr. Nicholas Ciraldo at the University of Southern Mississippi. Before moving to Texas, Mr. Kyzer earned a Master of Music degree at the prestigious New England Conservatory in Boston, MA. There he studied with Eliot Fisk, one of the great masters of the guitar in our time and the last direct pupil of Andres Segovia. While in Boston, Dan maintained a vibrant teaching studio at the Boston School of Guitar, where he taught students from all over the world from ages 10 to 65. He was also involved with several organizations during his tenure at NEC including Guitar and Friends, a nonprofit concert and outreach organization, the NEC Entrepreneurial Musicianship Dept., and Boston GutiarFest 2010. As an active performer in the Boston music scene, Dan was privileged to play with the MIT Women’s Chorus and Boston Metro Opera.
Now based in Denton, TX, Mr. Kyzer was awarded a Doctoral Teaching Fellow at the University of North Texas as he pursues his Doctor of Musical Arts (expected graduation: December, 2017). Currently, Dan is an Adjunct Professor of Guitar at Mountain View College in Dallas, where he teaches Applied Guitar, Guitar Ensemble, Guitar Class, and Music Appreciation. One Dan's most recent students was awarded the Alice Jones Bearding Award as the best music student at MVC for 2016-17. Dan also serves as the Director of the annual Mountain View College Guitar Festival, and Instructor of Guitar at Coppell Conservatory.
An acclaimed guitarist, Dan has claimed several competition prizes including 1st Prize at the New Orleans International Guitar Festival, 3rd Prize at the Mississippi Guitar Festival, and 4th Prize at the Sierra Nevada Guitar Festival as well as being selected as a finalist at the Southern Guitar Festival.
Mr. Kyzer’s performances in the Dallas area have included solo recitals at UNT and UNT on the Square, and Mountain View College, as well as ensemble concerts with classical guitarist Bryan Burns, tenor Martin Guerra-West, UNT’s University Singers, and Music Theater Denton. Most recently, Mr. Kyzer was selected as a finalist at the Southern Guitar Festival in Columbia, SC. As a member of the guitar community in the Dallas Metroplex, he has served on juries for the Collin College Guitar Competition and the Lone Star Guitar Festival.
His guitar: A Wood Ring Cedar/Cedar double top with Zircote back, sides and head plate.
