Artistic Director
“Ryan is a highly respected musician with vast knowledge of the choral repertoire. His rehearsals are renowned for being well-prepared and astutely directed. With his experience of conducting successful concerts in the USA, France and England he has much to offer. I wish him every success in this exciting new venture!”
– Andrew Campling, founder and music director, Thames Chamber Choir
Opera Parallèle in San Francisco was thrilled to have Resound Ensemble join our production of Les Mamelles de Tirésias. Ryan built a choral ensemble comfortable across musical styles, and his commitment to creative programming made for a natural collaboration with our organization.
– Nicole Paiement, founder and artistic director, Opera Parallèle
“As a composer, working with Ryan was an absolute delight! I was very inspired by his thoughtful and nuanced approach to bringing my music to life. From the very inception of the project, Ryan was deeply invested in the creative process, offering invaluable insights and considerations that elevated the work to new heights. His collaborative spirit and exceptional ears made our rehearsals a true pleasure, and the premiere performances were a testament to his skill and dedication. I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with such a talented and supportive conductor!
– Ilyas Iliya, composer, Walton Music
“Ryan has the gift of programming music that is fun to sing, just the right amount of challenging, and that fits together to tell a great story over the course of a concert.”
– Anne Marie Borch, former singer and chair, Resound Ensemble
“I was always so grateful to learn the pieces Ryan introduced to our ensemble and so proud to perform them. The songs were moving, sonically interesting for singers and audience members, and spanned time periods, geographies and genres.”
– Charu Juneja, singer, Resound Ensemble
Biography
For nearly twenty-five years, Ryan Connolly has led choral music in academic, community, and liturgical settings with singers of all ages and abilities. Originally from St Paul, Minnesota, Ryan studied piano, viola, and choral and orchestral conducting at St Olaf College, where he also sung and played piano with the St Olaf Choir on national tours. As a young professional, Ryan’s choirs were invited to sing for conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, and were recognized regionally for exceptional programming and performance.
In 2011, Ryan founded Resound Ensemble in San Francisco, a choir committed to innovative programming, to commissioning new music each year since its founding, to leading outreach workshops with Bay Area composers and singers, and that worked collaboratively with Opera Parallèle, a contemporary opera company known for merging tradition with innovation in boundary-pushing productions. In 2016, Ryan was invited to conduct the Paris Choral Society and the choir at the American Cathedral in Paris in both church services and concerts of major works with orchestra, including Bach’s Christmas Oratorio, Handel’s Messiah, and settings of the Gloria by Rutter, Poulenc, and Puccini. Ryan is the Music Director at St Peter de Beauvoir Town in London and the composer of the De Beauvoir Psalter.
SUPPORT EPHEMERAL LOVE
Make a Donation Today
As a start-up organization, we’re doing all we can to build a strong foundation for the future, and we are determined to succeed. While we hope to sell out all of our concerts and events, we will rely on the generosity of friends, family, singers, audience members and the community to help us build that foundation through donations of all sizes. Please consider a donation toward making our inaugural year the first of many to come.
