Kayla Liptak is a percussion educator and GRAMMY-nominated performer based in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Over the last decade, she has built an extensive background in teaching and performing across the United States. She currently serves as the Assistant Director of Percussion at Aledo Independent School District (ISD). Prior to joining the award-winning music program at Aledo, Kayla served as a front ensemble instructor and private lessons teacher for several UIL and BOA championship-winning programs, including Flower Mound High School and Hebron High School. She has also held multiple caption head and assistant caption head roles within the Drum Corps International (DCI) circuit, most recently with Genesis and Shadow.
As a performer, Kayla has explored multiple facets of percussion and has developed a deep interest in ensemble performance with several independent and academic groups. Most recently, she has performed with the UNT Wind Symphony, Lone Star Wind Orchestra, Monarch Brass, and the Tuscaloosa Symphony Orchestra. As a student, she premiered over thirty works for wind ensemble, symphony orchestra, percussion ensemble, and solo percussion. Kayla specializes in playing the semantron and has performed on the instrument in several art installations and a short film over the last two years. She most recently collaborated with Dallas-based artist Robert Barsamian and Los Angeles-based film composer Michael Paraskevas.
Before joining the Pacific Crest organization, Kayla held a graduate teaching fellowship at the University of North Texas while working on her Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Performance. During her time at UNT, she was a featured performer on three CDs with the UNT Wind Symphony and shared the stage with renowned performers such as Dame Evelyn Glennie and the Barcelona Clarinet Players. Kayla also holds degrees from Texas A&M University-Commerce and the University of Alabama.