Ryan Brown

Described as “nimble, expressive, ear-turning and strange in an accessible way” (Washington City Paper), RYAN BROWN’s music has been performed across the country and around the world by many excellent groups, performers, and presenters, including Kronos Quartet, GRAMMY-winners Roomful of Teeth, Crash Ensemble, Brooklyn Philharmonic, pianist Lisa Moore, JACK Quartet, California E.A.R. Unit, Paul Dresher Ensemble, Gaudeamus Festival, Carlsbad Festival, MATA Festival, and the NY Phil's first Biennial.

Ryan has received an Emerging Composer Award from the Gerbode and Hewlett Foundations, and a Morton Gould Young Composer Award from ASCAP. He was a finalist for the international Gaudeamus Prize, and Composer-in-Residence at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts at UC Davis. His music has been recorded on New Amsterdam Records, Tritone Records, and TraceLabel.

In addition to composing, Ryan is co-founder and Executive Director of Switchboard Music, a San Francisco-based non-profit presenting innovative and eclectic music from the Bay Area and beyond. Also active as both an electric guitarist and electric bassist, Ryan has been a featured performer in works by Terry Riley, Steve Reich, John Adams, and Steve Mackey, and has performed his music with the JACK Quartet and Brooklyn Philharmonic.

Ryan received his Ph.D. from Princeton University, and is also a graduate of California State University-Long Beach and the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, where he teaches composition and music history and serves as Associate Dean for Professional Development.