Kwamé Ryan facts for kids
Kwamé Ryan (born in Toronto, Ontario) is a talented conductor from Trinidad and Canada. He leads orchestras and opera performances around the world.
Biography
Early Life and Learning Music
Kwamé Ryan was born in Toronto, Canada. His mother, Joya Gomez, was a teacher and actress. His father, Selwyn Ryan, was a university professor. When he was a baby, his family moved to Uganda. Later, they moved to Trinidad.
Kwamé started learning music at a young age. He took private lessons for piano, violin, and singing. He then moved to the United Kingdom to continue his studies. He went to Oakham School and later studied music at Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge University.
He also spent two years in Germany learning about the language and culture. Kwamé then studied how to be a conductor with famous teachers like Peter Eötvös in Hungary. From 1999 to 2003, he was the main music director for the Freiburg Opera and Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra in Germany.
Leading Orchestras
Kwamé Ryan made his first professional conducting appearance in the UK in 2004. This was at the Edinburgh International Festival. He returned to the festival in 2005 to conduct ballet shows. In October 2005, he conducted his first opera in the UK with the English National Opera.
In 2007, Kwamé became the music director for the Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine (ONBA) in France. He held this important role until 2013. During this time, he helped create several music recordings. He also led the l'Orchestre Français des Jeunes from 2008 to 2011. This is an orchestra for young French musicians.
From 2015 to 2022, Kwamé Ryan was a professor and director at the University of Trinidad and Tobago's National Academy for the Performing Arts. He focused on helping young people get involved in arts and community projects.
In 2023, Kwamé guest-conducted the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra in the United States. He impressed them so much that in December 2023, they announced he would be their new music director. He will start this role in the 2024-2025 season.
Music Recordings
Kwamé Ryan has conducted many recordings of different types of music. These recordings help people around the world listen to his performances. Some of his recordings include:
- Simplicius Simplicissimus by Karl Amadeus Hartmann (2005, DVD)
- Vortex Temporum by Gerard Grisey
- Works by Salvatore Sciarrino
- Prometeo by Luigi Nono
- Neither by Morton Feldman
- Schubert: Symphony No. 9 and Rachmaninov: Symphony No. 2, with Orchestre National Bordeaux Aquitaine
- Beethoven: Piano Concertos No. 1 and No. 2 with Shani Diluka and Orchestra National Bordeaux Aquitaine
See also
