Ryan Zwahlen, Oboe/English Horn

Ryan Zwahlen is one of Southern California's most sought-after oboists. He has performed multiple times with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under the batons of Zubin Mehta and Bramwell Tovey. He has played with many orchestras in the region, including the Culver City Chamber Orchestra, Riverside Philharmonic, Bakersfield Symphony, San Bernardino Symphony, Santa Monica Symphony, and the Center Stage Opera Orchestra. He currently serves as Principal Oboe of the El Dorado Opera Orchestra and Second Oboe and English Horn of the Southeast Symphony.

Zwahlen's passion for music is not limited to orchestral performance. He is deeply committed to chamber music as the Program Director of the Definiens Project, a non-profit, contemporary chamber music organization. Thanks largely to his leadership, the group will begin a two-year residency at UCLA in Fall 2006. Ryan's other chamber music activities included frequent performances as a member of the Santa Monica Woodwind Quintet during the 2005-06 season.

Despite his busy regional performance schedule, Zwahlen has also become a fixture in performance halls around the United States and abroad. He has performed with the Opera Orchestra of Germany, and won the Second Oboe position with the International Philharmonia of the Californias. His summer festival appearances have included performances as Principal Oboe and English Horn with both the Hot Springs Music Festival and the Las Vegas Music Festival.

Zwahlen's teaching experience is as varied and impressive as his performance credentials. He has taught at both UCLA and Citrus College in California, and he joins the faculty of the Las Vegas Music Festival for its 2006 season. He also believes in the importance of music education in the public schools and has committed his time and energy to the Children's Music Workshop of Los Angeles and to the Santa Monica/Malibu United School District.

Ryan is a candidate for the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Chamber Music and Oboe at UCLA. He received his Master of Music degree from Arizona State University and his Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana. Zwahlen's major oboe teachers have included Marion Kuszyk, Associate Principal Oboe of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, as well as Lelie Resnick, Rebecca Henderson, Fred Korman, Martin Schuring, Nancy Ambrose King, and Erik Larson. He has studied chamber music with Dr. Jennifer Snow, Jeffrey Lyman, and Timothy McGovern. He currently resides in Los Angeles.