Classic will meet cool when pianist Barron Ryan takes the stage on East Central University Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 1.
Ryan, who is from Tulsa, takes classic piano music and merges them with a funk, pop or country inspired sound. His love for music started at a young age, being the son of two musicians. He grew up in a house filled with the sounds of artists ranging from Mozart to Michael Jackson, so he’s never been one to draw from a set influence source. He combines them all into a musical adventure.
He began taking piano lessons at age four with his father and seemed destined for a career in music. He excelled in performing throughout his middle and high school years, then continued as a piano performance major at the University of Oklahoma.
After college, Ryan was disheartened by some setbacks until he entered a piano competition that sent its winner to perform internationally. Thanks to that concert tour, Barron found his artistic voice. He discovered the joy of jazz- and ragtime-inspired concert music and learned from great jazz pianists by transcribing and replaying their solos.
In 2019, Barron noticed a shocking lack of funk-, pop-, and country-inspired classical music. Realizing he could fill that void, he composed the “Magic City” Sonata and a dance suite called “Suite Thing.” Those works are now published and recorded on his third solo record, “First of Its Kind.”
In 2021, Barron added ‘commissioned composer’ to his growing list of accolades. Commissioned by Chamber Music Tulsa to produce a work commemorating the 1921 massacre in Tulsa, OK, he wrote a piece for piano trio entitled My Soul Is Full of Troubles. Smithsonian Magazine even took notice, and named Barron One of Ten Innovators to Watch in 2021.
Tickets are available at ecok.edu/boxoffice and range from $10-$25 depending on the seats. Tickets may also be purchased the Hallie Brown Ford Fine Arts Center Box Office at boxoffice@ecok.edu or 580-559-5751.