Bradley Kyker – Full Article

August 1, 2025

Bradley Kyker, SLOS Board Member

Greetings SLO Symphony community!  I’m Bradley Kyker, a proud member of the Symphony board of directors.  I’m a SLO native, as are my wife Nicole and sons Sam and Abe.  I served on the board back in 2004 through 2010, sitting on the Music Education Committee.  I returned for a new term in February’24, and now chair the Development Committee.

I grew up in a musical family.  I’ve been singing in choral ensembles my whole life, and have drawn so much fulfillment from it.  Although we are all singers, we also enjoyed symphonic music by attending Symphony, Festival Mosaic (then Mozart Festival), and the Community Concerts Series throughout my upbringing.

As a public educator (I work with college students, helping them build an ethic for giving back to their community and leveraging their service for their career readiness and development), I know the incredible value music and the arts bring to education, augmenting learning across all disciplines.  This is why I have so much pride in what our beloved Symphony does for public education in our local schools.  Our Strings in Schools program, as well as the portfolio of ensembles through our Youth Symphony are substantive opportunities that provide an entre for children to explore their musical talents and knowledge while music programs are being cut.  These opportunities help to foster the next generation of musicians and music enthusiasts, while improving their learning on all fronts along the way.

When my wife and I were newly married 15 years ago, we joined the Virtuoso Society (Symphony’s planned giving program).  We did so not just for the fun perks, but because we believe in investing in a legacy-building organization that develops our community, strengthens our economy, improves our quality of life, and strives to improve access and equity in providing music to people of all demographics.  That’s worthy of our investment, and I hope you think so, too.

Here’s hoping I’ll see you soon at Symphony POPs or at an upcoming concert of the 2025-26 season!