About Ryan Ford

Ryan was born into music, beginning piano lessons at age 6. At age 10, he started playing trumpet, performing in both jazz and concert bands in his home town of West Palm Beach, Florida. Ryan taught himself how to play the bass guitar in high school, yet he did not discover his true passion until the age of 20, when he picked up his first double bass. Ryan holds a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from the University of Florida and a Master of Music from the Hartt School at the University of Hartford. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts from the Hartt School.

Ryan has studied under Kevin Casseday at the University of Florida and Robert Black at the Hartt School of Music. He has also attended eight summer sessions with world renowned solo bassist Gary Karr.

At his first year at the Hartt School of Music, Ryan won the Miami String Quartet Competition in its first year of existence. In 2003, he had the privilege of performing at Carnegie Hall with the National Festival Orchestra under the baton of Lukas Foss.

Ryan lives in Manchester, CT with his wife Jennifer. He is a member of the Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, the New Britain Symphony Orchestra, the Waterbury Symphony Orchestra and the Hartt Bass Ensemble.