BIO

Ryan M. Hare, composer and bassoonist, was born in Reno, Nevada in 1970, but now lives in Pullman, Washington, where he earned tenure, the rank of "full" Professor, and taught composition, bassoon, and music theory at Washington State University from 2003 to 2020.

Ryan’s music has been performed at a large variety of venues and festivals, in as diverse locations as Tokyo, Japan, and Darmstadt, Germany. Commissioners include Fred Korman, longtime former principal oboist of the Oregon Symphony, the Washington Music Teachers Association—who awarded Ryan "Washington State Composer of the Year" in 2012—as well as the Mid-Columbia Symphony, Washington Idaho Symphony, Common Tone Arts, Affinity Chamber Players, the University of Idaho Vandaleers Concert Choir, and the Lake Forest College Orchestra, among others. His music has been championed by numerous other well-known performers and ensembles around the world, with recognition from New Music USA and the American Prize, and a number of his compositions are published by TrevCo Music Publishing and ALEA Publishing.

Much of the subject matter of Ryan's compositions is drawn from nature; recurrent themes include the deep mysteries of the cosmos and the extraordinary beauty of the state of Washington—as originating from a gloriously violent and volcanic past. He finds delight in the outdoors, physics, and astronomy, both in pursuit of hobbies such as hiking, photography, and bicycling, and also as a source of musical inspiration. He has often found creative respite in bicycling all over the beautiful region of southeast Washington known as the Palouse.

In his compositions, Ryan is inspired by the multiplicity of styles found in art music of the twenty-first century. He sees no essential contradiction between serialism, the avant-garde, minimalism, and the vernacular, but rather embraces the rich potential for all of it to be synthesized into something beautiful, compelling, and unexpected.

Ryan M. Hare seeks to combine composition and bassoon whenever possible, particularly as a founding member of the Artemisia Winds chamber ensemble. As a champion of music from all eras, he believes in promoting the music of today for its own sake, but also as a necessary component of maintaining and refreshing the interpretation of music of the past. He serves as principal bassoonist of the Yakima Symphony Orchestra, co-principal bassoonist and contrabassoonist of the Walla Walla Symphony, contrabassoonist of the Mid-Columbia Symphony, and performs in a variety of the leading professional ensembles all over the Pacific Northwest. 

Before earning the degree Doctor of Musical Arts in Composition in 2000 at the University of Washington, Ryan M. Hare previously earned a Master of Music in Composition at Ithaca College, and a Bachelor of Arts with an emphasis in composition at Oregon State University. With additional studies in 1996 at the Ferienkurse für neue Musik in Darmstadt, Germany, his principal teachers in composition include Joël-François Durand, Diane Thome, Richard Karpen, Greg Woodward, and Ron Jeffers, with additional studies with Shulamit Ran and Jacob Druckman as visiting professors at Ithaca College, and Brian Ferneyhough and Paul-Heinz Dittrich at Darmstadt. His primary bassoon teachers include Arthur Grossman, Lee Goodhew, and Mike Curtis, with additional study in audition preparation with Seth Krimsky