Matthew Ryan

I am a viola and violin pedagogue, with training and experience in traditional and Suzuki methods on the violin and viola. He uses a teaching style rooted in the classical tradition, drawing inspiration from his own education and performance experience. Hailing from Brisbane, Australia, I have been based in New York City since 2021. I received a Master of Music in Strings Studies from New York University, a Graduate Diploma in Music form the University of Queensland, and a Bachelor of Music, Performance (Viola) from the Queensland Conservatorium. I am currently the lead violin teacher at Honey Academy, a violin and viola faculty member at Larchmont Music Academy and Institute Paganini, and I maintain a private studio. Previously, I was the violin/viola teacher at the Newark School of the Arts, and was an adjunct faculty member at New York University. My students have seen success in recitals and examinations including NYSSMA in New York, have been accepted into New York and New Jersey Regional and All-State orchestras, and have gone on to attend programs at the Manhattan School of Music Pre-College. Growing up in a musical family, I began my instrumental training at age 5. After attempting piano lessons, I was presented a viola at age 7, and that was the instrument that stuck the most. I completed a Bachelor of Music in Performance on viola at the Queensland Conservatorium and a Graduate Diploma in Music at the University of Queensland, and in 2021, I relocated to the United States to attend New York University, where I was awarded a Master of Music in String Studies in 2023. I studied viola performance with Karen Ritscher, Patricia Pollett, and Graeme Jennings, violin pedagogy with Meghan Todt Williams, Alexander Technique with Eddy Malave, and performed in masterclasses for Sheila Browne, Garth Knox, Antoine Tamestit, Caroline Henbest, and Kathryn Lockwood. As a performer, I am in high demand as a multi genre international touring artist. I have experience in classical orchestral and chamber music, opera, and musical theatre, to contemporary and new music, pop, and punk rock. I have been a member of the Emo Orchestra since its inaugural United States tour in 2023, and have performed in many opera and musical theatre productions in New York City, notably performing in J2 Spotlight’s 2025 Off-Broadway production of Zorba. I am the violist of the Kompass Quartet, a string quartet co-founded with my classmates at NYU. The Kompass Quartet were the young artists in residence with the Craftsbury Chamber Players in Craftsbury, Vermont, during their Summer 2023 season, notably collaborating with composer and audio engineer Charlie Morrow on “Deaf Beethoven,” a reworking of Beethoven’s Die Grosse Fuge op.143, performed at the Bread and Puppet Theater for two months. Kompass are also regularly engaged in studio recordings, and wedding/event performances in the NYC area.

My teaching style is built on my own music training, blending philosophies of Suzuki and traditional methods, the viola pedagogy heritage from Karen Tuttle and Bruno Giuranna, and concepts from the Alexander Technique. To me, the "how" and "why" of music making is crucial to student enjoyment and success, from having an understanding of basic pitch and rhythm, ensuring ease and comfort in their playing form, to gain a more complete and deep understanding of the music we make.