Ryan Leonard  was born in Pasadena, CA and grew up in Westfield, NJ, where he began musical studies at the New Jersey Workshop for the Arts. After being an active participant in music and theatre in the public schools, he earned his BFA and MM at Carnegie Mellon University as a student of Thomas Thompson and Michael Rusinek.

Ryan has been Principal Clarinet with the Westmoreland Symphony since 2008. He has held positions with the Sarasota Opera, Opera Steamboat, and the Incidental Chamber Players. He has performed as guest principal clarinet of the Erie Philharmonic, Wheeling Symphony and Youngstown Symphony and has appeared as soloist with the Westmoreland Symphony, Resonance Works Pittsburgh, and the Edgewood Symphony in works by John Williams, Leonard Bernstein, W.A. Mozart and Aaron Copland. In 2007, he gave the premiere of the “Atlantic Concerto” for bass clarinet by Andrew Griffin.

As a freelancer based in Pittsburgh, he has performed  with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, Omaha Symphony, and the Pittsburgh Opera and Ballet orchestras. Ryan has performed in concert with artists such as John Williams, Yo-Yo Ma, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Idina Menzel, Sutton Foster, Johnny Mathis, George Takei, Stewart Copeland, Tony Desare and Thorgy Thor.

Summer festivals include the Artosphere Festival Orchestra in Fayetteville, AR and the Pierre Monteux School in Hancock, ME.  Additional studies with Andrew Lamy, Miriam Lockhart, Jack Howell and Richard Page. He lives in Pittsburgh with his wife, clarinetist Kira Bokalders and their two cats and loves to cook for friends and family. When he’s not playing the clarinet, Ryan studies and competes in Historical European Martial Arts events and tournaments.