The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra Announces New Assistant Conductor: Ryan Tani

MILWAUKEE, WIS. 06/19/2023 – The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra announced today the appointment of Ryan Tani as its new assistant conductor. Tani’s primary role will be conducting the MSO’s many youth, family, and community engagement concerts throughout the season, as well as Pops Series concerts and film with orchestra performances. In addition, he will take an active role in the MSO’s education initiatives, including the Arts in Community Education (ACE) program, hosting pre-concert lectures and giving in-school presentations.

“The opportunity to make music with this stellar orchestra, work closely with Music Director Ken-David Masur, and collaborate with this wonderful artistic team is a dream come true,” said Tani. “I am thrilled to get to know the orchestra, the organization, and the community as I take on my new role.”

“We are very pleased to appoint Ryan,” said Music Director Ken-David Masur. “He is an engaging, thoughtful, and talented young conductor who is passionate about music on and off the podium. I’m certain that he will be able to communicate the joys of making music to many audiences in our community and look forward to having him be part of our MSO artistic team.”

Conductor Ryan Tani recently completed his two-year tenure as the Orchestral Conducting Fellow for the Yale Philharmonia under Music Director Peter Oundjian, where he was the 2021 recipient of the Dean’s Prize for artistic excellence in his graduating class. Committed to meaningful community music-making, Tani has begun his tenure as conductor of the Bozeman Symphonic Choir. He frequently serves as cover conductor for the Colorado and Bozeman symphonies and also serves on the faculty at the Montana State University School of Music.

Highlights of the 2022.23 Season include appearances with the Colorado Symphony, Bozeman Symphony, Second String Orchestra, and Montana State University Symphony.

Tani recently concluded his tenure as music director of the Occasional Symphony in Baltimore. A fierce advocate of new music, Tani curated more than 20 commissions from Baltimore-based composers during his four-year directorship of OS. As resident conductor of the New Music New Haven series, he has collaborated, under guidance of Aaron Jay Kernis, with Yale University composition students and faculty.

Tani is also a graduate of the Peabody Institute, where he studied conducting with Marin Alsop and Markand Thakar, and of the University of Southern California, where he studied voice with Gary Glaze. In 2015, he was declared the winner of the ACDA Undergraduate Student Conducting Competition at their national conference in Salt Lake City, Utah. In addition to his studies at Yale and Peabody, Tani has also studied conducting with Larry Rachleff, Donald Schleicher, and Gerard Schwarz. Tani currently resides in Bozeman, Montana, where he can be found outdoors on a trail run or in the practice room with his violin.

About the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, led by Music Director Ken-David Masur, is among the finest orchestras in the nation and the largest cultural institution in Wisconsin. Since its inception in 1959, the MSO has found innovative ways to give music a home in the region, develop music appreciation and talent among area youth, and raise the national reputation of Milwaukee. The MSO’s 72 full-time professional musicians perform over 135 classics, pops, family, education, and community concerts each season in venues throughout the state. A pioneer among American orchestras, the MSO has performed world and American premieres of works by John Adams, Roberto Sierra, Philip Glass, Geoffrey Gordon, Marc Neikrug, and Matthias Pintscher, as well as garnered national recognition as the first American orchestra to offer live recordings on iTunes. Now in its 51st season, the orchestra’s nationally syndicated radio broadcast series, the longest consecutive-running series of any U.S. orchestra, is heard annually by more than two million listeners. The MSO’s standard of excellence extends beyond the concert hall and into the community, reaching more than 70,000 children and their families through its Arts in Community Education (ACE) program, Youth and Teen concerts, and Family Series.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.