Brisbane-born horn player Ryan Humphrey is undertaking his second year at ANAM in 2023 with Carla Blackwood. He was an Academist with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2022.
Ryan completed his Bachelor of Music in Performance with Distinction at the Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU) under the tutelage of Ysolt Clark, Peter Luff and Malcolm Stewart. During his studies, Ryan achieved membership to the prestigious Griffith Honours College, and placed second in the Beta Sigma Phi Brass Prize (2018). Upon completing his degree, he received the QHORNS Excellence Award (2019) for demonstrating musical excellence and commitment to the QCGU community. In 2019, Ryan travelled to the International Horn Symposium in Ghent, Belgium, where he won the Frizelle Orchestral Audition Competition for High Horn.
A passionate and experienced orchestral musician, Ryan has performed regularly with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra since 2017, and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra since 2022. Before relocating to Melbourne, Ryan was actively involved in the Brisbane and freelance scene, including collaborations with Camerata – Queensland’s Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Q and Queensland Pops Orchestra. Ryan has also participated in esteemed youth orchestras such as the Australian Youth Orchestra, Queensland Youth Symphony and the QCGU Symphony Orchestra.
Performance highlights include playing Principal Horn for Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks and The Ring Without Words with the QCGU Symphony Orchestra, Principal Horn for Beethoven’s Seventh Symphony with Ensemble Q, and Mahler’s Third Symphony and Bruckner’s Seventh Symphony with the QSO.
Outside of his vibrant performance career, Ryan is an experienced horn tutor, having taught at Brisbane schools Villanova College and Loreto College from 2017-2021. In his spare time, Ryan enjoys playing football and practising his rusty German.
FROM: Brisbane, QLD. Lands of the Yuggera people.
Photo by Pia Johnson.