Kathleen Ryan
What can you say about a pianist whose first favorite sound was made by marbles rolling in an aluminum dishpan?
In addition to practicing scales and repertory on her way to earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in music, Kathleen Ryan played snare drum in a marching band; wrote and performed singing telegrams; improvised music for avant garde dancers; composed a folk rock opera based on the Tristan and Isolde legend; and sang and danced in a hippie liturgical drama presented at the Ohio State Fair.
After a brief (very brief!) fling as a folk singer, and a somewhat longer interlude as a classical pianist, Kathleen began searching for ways to “sing the piano” — that is, transform the piano into a medium as intimately expressive as the human voice.
“When I am composing,” she says, “I don't necessarily hear music inside. Instead, I experience a subtle dissatisfaction until the sounds my hands create match the deeper emotion I feel within.”
These deeper emotions Kathleen strives to express in her music can be anything from rollicking to serene. Although listeners might have trouble categorizing Kathleen’s style, her performances and albums demonstrate that she has perfected the artistry of making the piano sing. Strong musical structure combines with beautiful melody and powerful rhythm, resulting in piano music that is direct, appealing, and unusual.
Kathleen’s compositions Spare Change and Outlooks (a sonatina for piano duet) took first place in the 2001 and 2003 Composers Today contests sponsored by the Music Teachers Association of California. This year Kathleen is the Professional Music Teachers of New Mexico Commissioned Composer. For the commission Kathleen is composing a set of 12 preludes for piano left hand alone. The preludes, titled Verbs, will be premiered by Santa Fe pianist Keith Snell in Los Alamos, New Mexico, in November.
Kathleen has published two recordings of her piano compositions. a handfull of quietness was featured in the Emmy–winning Iowa Public Television special The Four Seasons. The Rebirth of Light (2007) is garnering glowing reviews for Kathleen’s deep probing of traditional Christmas carols.
The unusual mix of ingredients influencing Kathleen’s compositions includes folk songs of the British Isles; blues masters Robert Johnson and John Lee Hooker; American composers Gershwin, Hammerstein, and Copland; a cappella gospel music; Mozart and Schubert, of course; and the polyrhythmic coin boxes on the Providence, Rhode Island buses.