Dr. Ryan Downey (bass-baritone) graduated with highest honors from Arizona State University, receiving his Bachelor’s in Voice Performance. He received his Master of Music degree in Voice Performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he won the Elizabeth Stoeckler Stevens Prize in German Lieder. Over the years, he had the opportunity to work and coach with Michael Tilson Thomas, Warren Jones, Lori Laitman, and George Darden. Throughout his career, Dr. Downey has performed roles in Così fan tutte, Ariadne auf Naxos, La traviata, Gianni Schicchi, Le nozze di Figaro, Die Zauberflöte, Don Giovanni, Handel’s Serse, and Douglas Moore's Gallantry.

Ryan was awarded a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in 2017 during which he explored performances of Duke Ellington's First Sacred Concert in Phoenix, Arizona. The project was a culmination of archival research from collections throughout Arizona and the National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

He has sung with the GRAMMY Award-Winning Phoenix Chorale, GRAMMY nominated True Concord Voices and Orchestra, Arizona Opera Chorus, American Bach Soloists, Oregon Bach Festival, and Trinity Cathedral Choir and has taught voice in private and collegiate voice studios.

Ryan’s teaching is student-focused in the sense that it pushes students of all backgrounds to find their voices through self-discovery and self-evaluation. The entirety of his teaching is guided and informed by each unique, individual student with whom he works and he believes it is essential that each student has personal say in the way they learn, how they question, and the way they thrive.