Ryan is a multi-instrumental composer and freelance musician from the United States, specializing in the trumpet. Music has been apart of his life since the age of four, although his formal training on the trumpet began nearly 15 years ago. While his college degrees are in classical and jazz music, his current work explores the intersection of improvisation, meditation, and electronics. His work seeks to challenge how others interact with art, and the role sound in one’s spiritual journey. Recently, he led The Ohm Project, a collaboration of original music for introspection around the climate crisis, institutionalized racism, and the nature of Anicca, impermanence.
As a freelance trumpet player, Ryan’s playing spans various styles. In 2022, he performed the world premiere of Esperanza Spalding and Wayne Shorter’s opera Iphigenia at the Majestic Theater in Boston, MA that was in the ‘third stream’ style; he performed alongside Esperanza Spalding, John Patitucci, Danilo Perez, and Jeff “Tain” Watts. During that same time, he also completed the world-premiere performance of Linda Chase’s oratorio, ‘For Our Common Home’, which received praise from the Vatican. Aside from these performances, Ryan has played with numerous orchestras, big bands and pit orchestras at the Palace Theater, the Grand Ole Opry, Jordan Hall, Boston Symphony Hall, and others.
In the United States, Ryan was also an active educator: he served on faculty at the New England Conservatory Prep School and taught private trumpet for ten years. Utilizing a strong sense of creativity and mindfulness are significant parts of his teaching philosophy; he believes that to fully engage learners, especially young learners, one must be present enough to fully understand their needs, and curious enough to develop creative solutions to make learning fun.
Ryan’s spiritual quest for a deeper truth led him to India, where he has lived since September 2024. While here, Ryan has played Kirtan in Rishikesh, Ganga Aartis at Parmarth Niketan Ashram, and recently, improvised sound meditations at Sri Aurobindo Ashram, Delhi. He also began writing poetry.
He holds a MM from the New England Conservatory and a BM from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
