Kwamé Ryan, conductor
Kwamé Ryan grew up on the Caribbean island of Trinidad, where he received his first musical education. At the age of 14 he was accepted into Oakham School in England, where he studied conducting, piano, voice, violin and double bass, before moving on to study musicology at Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge University.

In 1991 Mr. Ryan began conducting studies with composer/conductor Peter Eötvös, with whom he continues to have a close association. Mr. Ryan held the position of General Music Director of Freiburg Opera and Orchestra from 1999-2003. Among the operas he led there were Der fliegende Holländer, Tosca, Katja Kabanova, Eugene Onegin and Nixon in China. He also served as assistant to Lothar Zagrosek at Stuttgart State Opera from 1998-1999.

Recent debuts for Mr. Ryan included the opening concert of the 2004 Edinburgh Festival and English National Opera. In America he has conducted the Baltimore Symphony. In addition to his Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra debut, future engagements include debuts with the symphony orchestras of Atlanta, Detroit, Indianapolis and New Jersey.