He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Education, and a Master of Education degree in Voice Performance, both from Central Washington University

A private voice teacher for more than 20 years, Mr. Kysar developed a popular seminar for performers, "Psychodynamics of Music Performance," which he presented more than 75 times across the United States and Canada. He taught vocal and instrumental music in the Highline Schools near Seattle, Washington, for ten years.

For eleven years, he was general manager and music director of Pacific Lively Arts, producing a high school summer stock program and semi-professional programs with adults. He has conducted such shows as "Oklahoma," "Fiddler on the Roof," "Brigadoon," and "The Desert Song." His performance credits include the Seattle Gilbert and Sullivan Society, Seattle Civic Light Opera, and the Seattle Opera Chorus. For 15 years, he sang concerts with Sherry Meinert as A Gift of Song.

In the summer of 1998, he attended the Conducting Master Class at the Oregon Bach Festival with Hemuth Rilling and Thomas Somerville.

In 1987, Mr. Kysar joined Microsoft Corporation, a Seattle-based computer software company, retiring in 1995. His most recent assignment was as a program manager for MSNBC News, designing software for publishing and authoring daily news on the Internet. He and his wife, Diann, live in Bellevue, near Seattle, Washington, and have a son and a daughter.