Jeffrey Ryan
Jeffrey Ryan (born 1962 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian composer. His compositional style ranges from opera, art song, and choral music to chamber ensemble and orchestral works. Ryan has been commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra, the Windsor Symphony, Esprit Orchestra, Tapestry New Opera Works, the Arditti Quartet, and Elektra Women's Choir. Repeat performances have been presented by such ensembles as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal), the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra, the Victoria Symphony, the Canadian Chamber Choir, the Florida Orchestra, and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, as well as numerous art song teams and chamber ensembles.
Training
Ryan graduated with an Honours Bachelor of Music degree from the Wilfrid Laurier University and the gold medal in music. After earning a Master's degree in composition from the University of Toronto, he went on to receive his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in composition from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Donald Erb. Previous teachers include Alexina Louie, Lothar Klein, Mariano Etkin, Boyd McDonald, and Owen Underhill. He is an Associate Composer with the Canadian Music Centre.
Awards and Recordings
Ryan was twice nominated for a Juno Award for Classical Composition of the Year (for Quantum Mechanics in 2008 and Pangaea in 2005, the latter recorded by the Thunder Bay Symphony Orchestra conducted by Music Director Geoffrey Moull). His works have also been recorded by the Bowling Green Philharmonia (Ophélie), the Hannaford Street Silver Band (She Threw It Down, Anathema), the Penderecki Quartet (String Quartet #3) and the Canadian Chamber Choir (Angeline on Ossabaw and After Storm).
Current
Based in Vancouver, Ryan is Composer Laureate of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, after serving as that ensemble's Composer-in-Residence from 2002 to 2007. Since 1997, he has been Composer Advisor for Music Toronto. Ryan was an Affiliate Composer with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra from 2000 to 2002, and has been a featured composer with various festivals in Canada and the United States, including Soundstreams, Canada's Encounters series, the Winnipeg Symphony New Music Festival, Brandon New Music, the Strings of the Future festival, and Bowling Green State University's New Music and Art Festival.