Professor of Music Kent Lyman Completes Tour with Cellist Daughter

Dr. Kent Lyman, professor of music and director of keyboard studies, recently completed a small concert tour with his daughter, cellist Sophie Lyman, in February. 

Sophie Lyman is pursuing her master’s degree in cello performance at her father’s alma mater, the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University (IU). 

On this most recent tour, the Lymans performed at Meredith and at schools in Indiana and Minnesota. On February 13, they presented their program at Meredith in Carswell Concert Hall. On February 20, they traveled to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, where they taught a master class in the morning and presented their program in the evening. On February 23, they were at Bemidji State University in Minnesota, where they presented their program again.

The program they performed consisted of works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Andrea Casarrubios, Lili Boulanger, and Sergei Prokofiev. The selections were inspired by another father-daughter duo, pianist Ray Kilburn and violinist Maya Kilburn, who performed in concert at Meredith in 2025.

“I have known Ray since graduate school at IU. Ray has been teaching at Ball State University in Muncie for the last 20 years, and we did an exchange of solo concerts back in 2012-13,” Lyman said. “When he offered to bring his daughter with him to Meredith, he invited me to come again to Ball State to do an exchange. I offered to bring my daughter with me, just the same as he was doing.”

The Kilburns’ program at Meredith began with a Beethoven Sonata for Violin and Piano, and ended with a Prokofiev Sonata for Violin and Piano. Lyman said he and Sophie were inspired by the Kilburns’ concert, and decided to begin with Beethoven and end with Prokofiev, just as they did.

For the middle of the program, the Lymans decided to highlight the work of two women composers. Andrea Casarrubios is a Spanish composer who divides her time between Spain and the U.S.  

“She plays both piano and cello, so she is uniquely qualified to compose for both instruments,” Lyman said. The piece they chose by Casarrubios was “Sonia,” which was commissioned by cellist Tommy Mesa for the Sphinx Medal of Excellence Ceremony, held at the United States Supreme Court. It pays tribute to Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and premiered on March 1, 2023. 

The program also included composer Lili Boulanger. Lyman featured her work in his 2025 Faculty Distinguished Lecture at Meredith.  

“At age 18, she was the first woman to win the prestigious Prix de Rome competition for musical composition, and she wrote three beautiful short pieces for piano as a result, in 1914,” Lyman said. “Sadly, she suffered from ill health her whole life, and succumbed to illness at the young age of 24. Had she lived longer, it seems likely that she would have become one of the most important composers of the 20th century.”

Lyman calls performing with his children the “most fulfilling thing” he has done, both personally and professionally.

“Of my six children, three daughters are pursuing professional careers in music, along with one son-in-law,” Lyman said. “I have been all over the country performing with my children as they have worked on various degrees in music, or have had important performances.”