About Me
I first became obsessed with learning the piano when I was in the 9th grade. I wanted to play something cool at the school talent show.
I then studied piano at the university where I had the opportunity to study with some amazing teachers and play some great music.
I took several summer jobs accompanying string music festivals and fell in love with chamber music. I eventually played all the Brahms clarinet repertoire.
Somewhere around 2010 I started to dabble in Jazz piano. It seemed like this unexplored world of making music at the piano.
Learning jazz felt like starting over at the piano. I felt like a beginner again. This is where I spend most of my time practicing these days.
I've helped students win classical piano competitions and prepare to play with a rock band. See musical fitness.
I have 3 degrees, a bachelor's of Music in Piano Performance, a Master's degree in Piano Performance and Pedagogy, and finally a 2nd bachelor's in Computer Science. I am done with school, but not done learning. 😉
At the university I taught music theory, aural skills, keyboard skills, and piano lessons.
Hear/see me play:
- Chamber Music — Beethoven Trio, Mendelssohn Trio
- Bach — Prelude & Fugue Bk 1 no 15
- Piano Concerto — Liszt Totentanz - Piano Concerto
- Cello & Piano — Prokofiev Cello Sonata
- Modern Classical Piano — Copland Passacaglia
Bio for concerts and gigs #
In the quiet land where mountains tall do stand,
there dwells a fellow named Ryan, with skills both bright and grand.
A Master's in Piano, a maestro with the keys,
from classics to jazz, his melody doth please.
By day, in software's realm, codes he doth engineer,
but on YouTube's wide canvas, his knowledge doth appear.
A teacher at heart, he guides with gentle hand,
in the world of music and tech, in Middle-earth he stands. 🎹🏔️🌄🧙♂️