RUSSELL RYAN, born in North Dakota, began his piano studies at age six. A Graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory, he also attended master classes at the Juilliard School and studied at Vienna’s University for Music and Performing Arts, graduating with honors in piano chamber music under Professor Georg Ebert.

Mr. Ryan was an accompanist at the Wiener Singverein, and has been on the staff of the vocal department at the University for Music and Performing Arts since 1985. He has taught and accompanied master classes in Lieder, chamber music, opera and musical theater. As soloist, accompanist and chamber musician, he has frequently appeared in Europe, Israel and Japan and the US; for four seasons, he served as both soloist and accompanist at the San Francisco Bach Festival.

Mr. Ryan has also performed in many radio and television productions in Austria, Scandinavia, Japan and the US. Mr. Ryan has often been heard in vocal recitals at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York, and at the Embassy of Austria in Washington.