09/08/2026
Singer and songwriter Kyler Austin England returned to the University Honors Program 32 years after first stepping into Forum to share stories, lessons, and songs with current UHP students. Kyler, a 1998 graduate in Chemistry and MDS, enrolled at Berklee College of Music immediately after graduating from NC State and, after three semesters, has been a professional musician ever since. In addition to performing solo and as one of three members of The Rescues. Kyler and the band recently wrote and orchestrated the music for the new Broadway musical The Lost Boys. This past spring, they were collectively nominated for two Tony Awards for their work on the show.
In her visit, Kyler talked about how important Forum had been to her - the opportunity to see and meet the incredible performers, scientists, and thinkers brought in to speak with students, but just as importantly to her, the opportunity to sit among other bright and curious students and learn and be challenged.
Connection and curiosity were key, Kyler stressed, to her experience in the program, to her success at NC State, and to her professional success since. That experience of sitting in Forum and engaging with other students and Forum guests has been replicated many times over in her career, from collaborating with other songwriters to scoring a Broadway show. As Kyler noted, two of the most important moments in her professional career came down to connection and curiosity: forming The Rescues and being asked to write the music for The Lost Boys both relied on people in her life circling back to make these opportunities real and on her being willing to be curious, to listen, and to take the leap.
Kyler’s generosity to the students and program went beyond returning to speak with and play for them in the Honors Forum. In addition to dinner with a small group of students one night, she also hosted a writing workshop for students. On Tuesday evening, nearly thirty students joined Kyler to learn how she and her collaborators went through the process of writing the show’s music, breaking down several songs and the choices they made to help the students understand the unique demands of writing for musical theatre.
