Biography

Ryan Jesperson (1981) is a composer whose music is steeped in the modern practice of blurring genres and skewing expectations.  With a taste for eccentric rhythms and dissonant chord progressions, Ryan’s music alludes to his jazz and rock roots while still holding strong to his contemporary academic tastes. Ryan holds an MM and an AD from the University of Hartford, and a BM and BA from Washington State University.  Currently, Ryan is pursuing his doctorate at the University of Missouri-Kansas City where he is a Chancellor’s Doctoral Fellow.  His principal compositions teachers include Larry Alan Smith, Robert Carl, Stephen Gryc, Charles Argersinger and Gregory Yasinitsky.  Ryan is currently studying with Zhou Long.

Ryan’s compositions have been seen and heard across the country, with performances at the SCI National Student Conference in Miami, FL, the SCI Region VII conference in Northridge, CA, the SCI Region V conference in Indianapolis, IN, and the ReJoyce Festival in Metaline Falls, WA.  His chamber opera, Words for the Dead,was premiered in 2004 at Washington State University.  Recent performances include ...and those seven dwarfs in Hartford, CT and Sonata for Trombone by Radu Clipa in Bucharest, Romania, Upcoming performances include the premieres of Violin Sonata in New York City and Divertimento for Trumpet and Organ in Hartford, CT, as well as the premiere of Concerto for Flute by Sophia Tegart in Kansas City, Missouri.

A finalist in the 2008 UMKC Chamber Composition Competition, Ryan has also won awards from the Lional Hampton Jazz Festival Composition Competition, FASR and Phi Beta Kappa. His list of commissions include the Honors String Quartet, the Miklos Quartet, trumpeter Chris Belluscio, violinist Sarah Washburn, vocalist Ashly Evans and trombonist Radu Clipa.  Also an educator, Ryan was a member of the music faculty at the Hartford Conservatory and taught at the University of Hartford.  Ryan is published through Sound Music Publications.