Mr. Ryan Ash

Ryan Ash, cellist, earned his Bachelor of Music degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying cello with Brandon Vamos (of the twice Grammy-winning Pacifica Quartet) and piano with Dr. Yu-Chi Tai, and his Master of Music degree at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University with Dr. Tanya Carey, former president of the SAA and with whom he continued teacher training for four additional years. Ryan also counts Dr. Louis Bergonzi and Dr. Karen Hendricks (cello), Caroline Fraser (piano), and Melanie Ron (early childhood music) among his teaching mentors. He has performed in masterclasses for Steven Doane, Richard Aaron, David Halen, Amit Peled, John Sharp, Wendy Warner, the Arianna, Biava, and Shanghai String Quartets.

Before relocating to Pittsburgh, Ryan performed frequently as a member of the Sinfonia da Camera, the Champaign-Urbana, Eastern Illinois, and Decatur Symphony Orchestras. Locally, Ryan has performed on the Holy Trinity Concert Series, OvreArts, Music on the Edge, Pittsburgh Concert Society, and also appeared with Resonance Works, Living Room Chamber Music Project, and the Westmoreland, Butler County, Huntington, Ohio Valley, Youngstown, and Pittsburgh Festival Opera orchestras. His performance of Gian Carlo Menotti’s Trio for Two Cellos and Piano was also featured on Chicago’s classical radio station 98.7 WFMT, and he has appeared for interviews and performances on 89.9 WDAV Charlotte and 89.3 WQED FM Pittsburgh with Beo String Quartet. Ryan has toured and recorded with Beo String Quartet since 2015.

Ryan maintains a studio of cello, piano, early childhood and music literacy classes since 2012.