 Kyr has held teaching positions at Yale University, UCLA, the Longy School of Music and since 1990, has been Professor of Composition and Theory at the University of Oregon, which also includes David Crumb on the faculty.Kyr also directs the Oregon Bach Festival Composers Symposium, the University of Oregon Composers Forum, the Music Today Festival, and the Vanguard Concert and Workshop Series, as well as the Pacific Rim Gamelan.Kyr received his bachelor's degree from Yale University in 1974, followed by a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980, and a Ph.D from Harvard University in 1989, where previously, he was a Junior Fellow in the Society of Fellows.