Ryan is devoted to providing students with the knowledge, skills, and discipline required to play the cello, as well as nurturing their individual artistic voice. He is a dedicated multi-genre cellist with a passion for helping students discover and learn music they can identify with. Learning an instrument is a journey to self discovery and expression that requires honesty, discipline, and mindful practice. Ryan studied with Dr. Robert Jesselson — distinguished professor at the University of South Carolina — where he discovered his enthusiasm for teaching and mindful approach to practicing. Ryan began performing with several orchestras around the Southeast, including the South Carolina Philharmonic, the Greenville Symphony Orchestra, and the Longbay Symphony. He has since taken his cello playing to new mediums and genres — his YouTube channel which features performances of songs ranging from rock, to shred, to dubstep, has a following of over 5,000 subscribers and over 1 million views. His cover of Skrillex’s “Bangarang” was featured in several national and international online media news articles. In 2014-15, Ryan had the privilege of collaborating and recording with several top level film trailer and television composers in Los Angeles — composers and companies include Mark Petrie, audiomachine, and Angry Mob Music, whose works have been featured in trailers for many recent major motion pictures such as “The Hobbit”, “Noah”, “Tomorrowland”, “Exodus”, and many others. In his free time, Ryan enjoys writing music himself as well as discovering new ways to push his cello to its creative limits . . .