CANDIDATE SPOTLIGHT – Ryan Tani
- tiakanigan2
- Jun 17
- 6 min read
Updated: Jun 30
About the Music Director Search
This season, the Great Falls Symphony is thrilled to welcome six outstanding finalists as part of our search for the next music director. Each candidate will conduct a concert and spend time in our community, sharing not only their artistry but their vision for what the Symphony could mean in our town.
“This is an extraordinary opportunity for Great Falls,” says Executive Director Hillary Shepherd. “We invite everyone–patrons, musicians, and first-time concert goers alike–to come experience each conductor and help us imagine the next chapter of our Symphony’s future.”
Stay tuned for more candidate spotlights as we introduce the other five finalists throughout the season!
Meet Ryan Tani
Joy on the Podium
When you meet conductor Ryan Tani, it’s hard not to be swept up by his enthusiasm–for music, for leadership, and for the simple joy of connecting with people.
Ryan didn’t grow up in a musical household. In fact, his journey into the world of music started at a family reunion watching his uncle play the saxophone. He remembers being mesmerized, sitting right in the front row, begging his mom for a violin. At just three years old, he started on a cardboard practice violin (less fragile, more affordable), and by four, he had the real thing in hand. He has played violin ever since and says it was his first love.
Throughout his childhood in Salt Lake City, Utah, Ryan studied violin through the Suzuki method, with his mom practicing alongside him. Eventually, he discovered singing and fell in love with choral music. He remembers, “I had teachers and conductors who saw so much more in me than I could see in myself, and they made me feel powerful. I wanted to be that for someone else. I wanted to be a conductor.”
By high school, he was balancing both voice and violin. As he became more serious about singing, he realized he didn’t have the time to do both. He served as concertmaster of his high school orchestra but was more drawn to vocal performance than to violin competitions. Ryan also had a very impactful vocal conductor who mentored him and inspired his early dreams of standing on the podium. “I always thought, ‘This would be so much better if I were conducting! I have opinions–let me share my opinions!’” he laughs. Alongside his musical pursuits, Ryan was also interested in engineering and was active on his school’s robotics team.
Ryan went on to earn his Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Southern California, where he also minored in Computer Science. He still feels deep gratitude to his professors there, many of whom he still calls mentors and friends. At USC, he co-founded the Concerto Chamber Orchestra, a student-led ensemble designed for non-music majors who still wanted to play. The orchestra–which is still active today–offered low-pressure performance opportunities. Ryan served as the group’s music director for four years through college and beyond graduation. That was where his love for orchestral conducting truly began.
His graduate studies took him to the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University, where he earned his Master of Music in Conducting under Marin Alsop and Markand Thakar. He says he loved how much collaboration it required. “You have to trust each other on and off stage. Everything turns out better with good communication and transparency. I believe the days of the dictatorial approach are ending for the orchestral world. Plus, it’s much more fun to make music in a creative space! I feel so strongly that if the culture is bad, then the work will inevitably be bad. Everything is connected.” He later earned a Master of Musical Arts in Conducting from the Yale School of Music, studying with Peter Oundjian.
Since then, Ryan’s career has taken him from conducting youth orchestras to major symphonies. He currently serves as assistant conductor of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, where he works on everything from Classics and Pops to educational concerts and community outreach. He’s also held conducting roles with the Bozeman Symphony, the Colorado Symphony, and cover conducted the St. Louis and New York Philharmonic Orchestras.
But for Ryan, conducting has always been about more than just musical technique.
“I feel insane amounts of joy for what I do. I can’t help but do it. Conducting was the way to marry all of my passions: music, leadership, and bringing people together. Sharing that with others is what makes me happy.”
He says that he feels that conducting is the best way he can be a part of music making for other people. “I love to facilitate the musicians, meet them where they are and make music with them in that moment.”
Ryan sees the music director position as not just a conductor, but a builder of relationships and trust: between musicians, between the orchestra and audience, and between the Symphony and the larger community.
“I think that a symphony is more than the concerts we put on. We could sit at home and listen to recordings, but the real magic is that we can come and listen to music together. Those experiences are made so much better when rich relationships exist between people. Conductors spend so much time on gestures, score, and rehearsals. Those should be a given. The music director should be the fabric of the entire musical ecosystem–not just rehearsals and the performance. It's about forging meaningful links between everyone: orchestra, choir, students, and patrons. The role of a music director is to build trust. Those intangible qualities are what really energize me.”
His philosophy about being a music director looks toward the future as well. His interest in a town the size of Great Falls stems from an appetite for growth. “Instead of a music director just sharing what they know from other places, you can approach with curiosity and grow to become more together.”
Ryan shares his life with his wife, Bronte, and their 7-year-old corgi, Darby. Ryan met Bronte in the USC Chamber Singers Choir. After eight years together they married in 2021. They look forward to celebrating their fourth wedding anniversary this summer. She is a Billings native, and one of the founding students of the Billings Youth Orchestra. In fact, she was the first Concertmaster in that program! She is currently completing a residency in Psychiatry.
Outside of music, Ryan is a man of many interests. He loves spending time outdoors (though he misses the mountains while living in Milwaukee!), board game nights, and dabbling in programming and web design. He also loves to cook–especially savory dishes–and has recently started making ice cream from scratch. His latest flavors are peach bourbon and Riesling pear.
So what can Great Falls expect from Ryan’s upcoming program with the Symphony?
“Each of the candidates has imbued something in their program that shares who they are,” he explains. “Mine follows a theme of star-crossed lovers and explores orchestral color and emotional storytelling. From the timelessness of West Side Story to the brilliance of Fandango, I’m just thrilled to share this music, and phenomenal violin soloist and friend, Ilana Setapen, with you.”
Ryan invites the community to come to the concert with open minds and open hearts. “I know that every concert next year is going to be phenomenal. It’s all going to come down to who is the right fit for your community. I am over the moon to be a part of that process and meet everyone in person.” For him, the excitement is in the spark of a new connection, that first rehearsal, the sense of expectation, the first moment of shared sound between conductor, musicians, and audience.
“We get to participate in something that makes us better than we are by ourselves. That’s the kind of magic I’m hoping to create–and I can’t wait to meet you all and experience it together.”
Ryan Tani is sponsored by Nancy Loncki. All of our Music Director Finalist Candidates are sponsored by The Gibson Hotel, City Motor Company, and Rib & Chop House–Great Falls!
Get to Know All of Our Finalist Music Director Candidates
This is just the beginning of our journey to finding the next music director of the Great Falls Symphony. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be introducing each of the candidates, all of whom bring something special to the table. Stay tuned for more candidate spotlights, and don't miss the opportunity to see these outstanding conductors in action during their upcoming performances.
To read their professional biographies or to learn more about the upcoming season and buy season tickets, click below.
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