Ryan Williams
Biography
Ryan J. Williams (b. 1980, Pittsburgh, Penn.) is an American composer, arranger and educator.
Mr. Williams first began composing music as a freshman in high school in Mechanicsburg, Penn. Following this passion for more than 20 years, he has written many works for a variety of forces, both large and small, with a notable focus being on the wind band.
After five years performing with DCA and DCI drum & bugle corps, he enlisted into the Army Reserve where he served as an instrumentalist, arranger, and composer for 14 years. After earning a Bachelor of Science degree in music education from York College in 2005, Williams attended West Chester University where he earned his Master of Music Theory and Composition degree in 2014 and his Bachelor of Music degree in 2003. Throughout his study, Williams has worked with Robert Maggio, Adam Silverman, Andrew Yozviak, Armando Bayolo, Marc Sabat, John Fitz Rogers, and David Kirkland Garner. Presently [2020], Williams lives in Columbia, S.C. and attends the University of South Carolina, pursuing his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in music composition.
Currently, Williams receives commissions for all levels of music, ranging from beginning students and middle school band to professional musicians. His works have been performed across the eastern United States.
In addition to composition, Williams is a performer and technician. He has worked with dozens of competitive and non-competitive high school bands, college bands, and drum corps across the country. Williams has served as a brass instructor for the Hawthorne Caballeros, the 2015 World Champion Reading Buccaneers, The Cadets, and the Boston Crusaders. For 2020 he will join the Blue Stars from LaCrosse, Wisconsin, as the assistant brass caption head. As a writer and designer, he works with the Starriders Drum and Bugle Corps from Bad Münder, Germany. In addition to writing and teaching, Williams is active as an adjudicator, serving marching bands across the country.
Works for Winds
- Cruisin'
- Mandatory Social Distancing (2020)
- Pasión y Fuego
- Shades of Red (2019)
- Spirals (2020)
Resources
- Ryan Williams, personal correspondence, April 2020
- Ryan Williams website Accessed 18 April 2020