Composer. Technologist. Storyteller.
About
Ryan has been completely enthralled by music for as long as he can remember. As a child, Ryan would fill pages of tea-stained paper with dots and lines, “writing” pretend scores that mimicked the sheet music he couldn’t yet read. That early fascination naturally led to formal study in piano and violin, and by high school he was composing arrangements and original music for his school orchestra and percussion ensemble.
Ryan went on to study violin performance at a conservatory outside Atlanta, where he became known as a versatile collaborator. In demand on violin and viola, he also worked as a piano accompanist for vocalists across opera, jazz, and contemporary styles. Alongside his performance work, he continued taking on projects in musical typesetting, transposition, and arranging.
After graduating, his travels and work in technology continued to shape his sound. An avid synthesizer enthusiast, Ryan became especially interested in how new tools and instruments can be combined with traditional compositional techniques to emphasize human expressiveness. His work has been shaped by close study of a wide range of composers, with Arnold Schoenberg, Erich Korngold, John Williams, and Jóhann Jóhannsson standing out as key influences.
Today, Ryan’s work sits at the intersection of orchestral tradition and modern experimentation. He is available for commissions and special projects, with a particular focus on narrative-driven formats such as film, games, and opera.
Current Projects
Forthcoming Untitled Opera
Summer 2026 | San Francisco, CA
A new psychological one-act opera for baritone and chamber orchestra, with music and libretto by Ryan Stauffer.
“[By] never allowing the audience to be privy to any other reality … if you can hold the audience long enough ... you can make them empathize with someone they do not feel is worthy of empathy. And then you’re in a very interesting place…”
Le cauchemar de Barbe-Bleue
(The Nightmare of Bluebeard)
Fall 2026 | Paris, France
A one act immersive theatre production that uses the original French tale of Duke Bluebeard and his wives to take the audience on a journey into our own personal and dangerous relationships with AI.
Music will be a core part of this production, for which Ryan is completing an electronic recomposition and reinterpretation for synthesizers of Maurice Ravel’s dark and monumental piano suite Gaspard de la nuit.
Ryan will perform this new electronic score live as part of the production.
