Professor of Music
Email: kgullings@uttyler.edu
Department: School of Performing Arts
Additional Department: Music
Kyle Gullings
Biography
Dr. Kyle Gullings is an educator, scholar, and composer. He joined the faculty of The University of Texas at Tyler in 2011, where he is a professor of music theory and composition. He served as Director of the School of Performing Arts from 2019 to 2023.
Gullings is committed to improving and increasing access to undergraduate instruction in music theory and composition nationally. He is a co-author of the free, online open educational resource (OER) music theory textbook Open Music Theory Version 2, supported by two OER development grants totaling $45,000 from Virginia’s Academic Library Consortium (VIVA). His peer-reviewed articles appear in Engaging Students: Essays in Music Pedagogy and NACWPI Journal. His free and editable collection of over 100 original lower-division music theory course documents, “Open Educational Resources for Undergraduate Music Theory,” is published on the peer-reviewed Resources page of the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy.
As a versatile, collaborative composer of stage, vocal, and chamber works, Gullings’ projects have traversed diverse social topics including space travel, nuclear weaponry, mortality, mental illness, and the American Dream. He has been recognized through the American Prize (National Finalist Honorable Mention: Orchestra Music – Professional Division 2025), the National Opera Association’s Chamber Opera Composition Competition (1 of 3 National Finalists) and the SCI/ASCAP Student Composition Competition (two-time Regional Winner), and his music has been performed across the country through the Kennedy Center’s Page to Stage Festival, John Duffy Composers Institute (now the John Duffy Institute for New Opera), Capital Fringe Festival, College Music Society, and Society of Composers, Inc., and by the East Texas and Victoria Symphonies.
Gullings completed his D.M.A. in Composition at The Catholic University of America, where he was also the first recipient of their unique Stage Music Emphasis master’s degree. He holds a Bachelor of Music degree in Theory/Composition from Concordia College in Moorhead, MN. He enjoys running, home brewing, and spending time with his wife Terra and their dogs Ollie and Buddy.
Learn more at www.kylegullings.com.