James Ryon

James Ryon has appeared as recitalist and soloist in the United States, South & Central America and the Middle East. He currently is Professor of Oboe at the University of North Texas College of Music and he serves as the Principal Oboist of the Baton Rouge Symphony. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the Juilliard School and has received performance fellowships at the Aspen, Berkshire, Blossom, Kneisel Hall and New College Music Festivals. His principal teachers are Robert Bloom and John Mack.

Prof. Ryon has also served as Professor of Oboe at the Louisiana State University and the University of Akron, as well as Principal Oboist with the Akron Symphony, the Florida Orchestra, the Orquesta Filarmonica de Caracas, and the Orchestra Estadual de Minas Gerais in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. For 19 years he was a member of the Solaris Quintet in residence at the University of Akron. He has also taught at the Baldwin Wallace Conservatory; at the University of South Florida, where he was a member of the Ars Nova Quintet; and at the Caracas Philharmonic Conservatory, where he was Director of "Musica en las Escuelas", a musical outreach program.

Prof. Ryon's interest and research in Brazilian music led to his organizing BrazilFest '91 at the University of Akron, performing at several festivals of Brazilian contemporary music, and establishing the Burle Marx Brazilian Music Collection at the University of Akron's Bierce Library. Prof. Ryon's CD of 20th Century Brazilian Chamber Music for Oboe, Cello and Piano with the Burle Marx Trio has been released by Jeanne Digital Recordings.