Ryan Shirar

Ryan Shirar is a New YorkCity-based conductor and music director who is also an accomplished pianist and orchestrator. Trained classically, he is diversely capable in styles ranging from masterworks to pop to Broadway. Shirar is currently the music director of The Four Phantoms, whose PBS Special aired in August. He has performed globally at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Aspen Music Festival, Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, New York's Town Hall, and Feinstein’s/54 Below and with orchestras including Plymouth Philharmonic, Tulsa Signature Symphony, Austin Symphony, Lexington Philharmonic, West Michigan Symphony, Columbus Symphony, and Cleveland Pops. Shirar made his Broadway debut in 2015 as pianist for The Visit, starring Chita Rivera, and recently music directed Waitress at the Cape Playhouse. He also performs with Manhattan Concert Productions, which holds residencies in New York City every spring culminating in choral and orchestral performances at Carnegie Hall.

One of Shirar's interests is in the development of new works in classical, pop, and theatrical genres. Currently, he is orchestrator for The Voice of Whitney: A Symphonic Celebration, with reimagined versions of Whitney Houston classics. He is an orchestrator for The American Pops Orchestra (Washington, DC), and through APO, has written for the PBS series, One Voice: The Songs We Sing. Shirar also serves as Music Director and Orchestrator for singers Maxine Linehan and Franc D'Ambrosio and has orchestrated numerous shows with Spot-On Entertainment.

Shirar received his Bachelor of Arts in Mathematics and Music from the University of Kentucky, and his Masters in Orchestral Conducting from Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music.