Ryan Gruber:
CLASS OF 1995
Bay Port High SchoolClass of 1995
Green bay, WI
University of Wisconsin - MusicClass of 2000
Madison, WI
Northwestern University - MusicClass of 1996
Evanston, IL
Ryan's Story
Since our 10-year reunion, when I was a first-year fellow with the New World Symphony in Miami Beach...
I accepted a position in May 2006 with a brand-new opera orchestra in Valencia, Spain, led by Lorin Maazel and Zubin Mehta (the current and former music directors of the New York Philharmonic). I had a great time living in Spain, but there were some things about the job that weren't a great fit for me.
So upon winning an audition (on my 30th birthday) for Principal Horn with the South Dakota Symphony in Sioux Falls, I had the rest of my stuff shipped back from Valencia and moved to yet another place I never dreamed of living - the Great Plains.
When I'm not playing here, I also play on a regular basis with the Kansas City Symphony, whe...Expand for more
n they need an extra or substitute.
Prior to all this craziness, I received my B.Mus. in Music Performance and Political Science from the University of Wisconsin - Madison, and spent the following year studying at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo on a Fulbright fellowship. I then returned to Madison and spent four years working as a policy analyst for the Wisconsin State Legislature, while playing my horn in a handful of regional orchestras (including Green Bay).
It's been somewhat of a nomad's life the last few years, but I have gotten to see so much of the world and meet so many amazing people, all because I make pretty sounds with a metal tube. It's a surreal way to make a living, but for now, I wouldn't trade it for the world.
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