Ms. Kimberly Ryan

Kimberly has been performing and teaching private violin and viola lessons in the Richmond area for over 15 years. She is dedicated to teaching both Suzuki and traditional methods at all levels and ages, tailoring her style to the specific goals of each student and family. Kimberly’s studio is thriving, with students from the earliest beginners to advanced levels participating in individual and group classes, and performing regularly. As an instructor, she has served on the faculties of numerous summer music programs including at Arthur Russell Strings in South Harbor, Maine; Henrico County Public Schools, and VCU’s Summer Strings Camp. She also is building a strong program as the Director of Orchestra and Chorus at Trinity Episcopal School. Her students regularly earn honors at local, state and national levels, and many have gone on to study music at the college and music conservatory levels.

As a performer, she regularly plays viola as a freelancer in many professional ensembles, including the Richmond Symphony, Virginia Opera Orchestra and others. She is the violist in the string quartet, Rosette, an all-women group that presents innovative programming in unexpected venues around Richmond.

Kimberly received a Bachelor of Music Degree in Music Education from Virginia Commonwealth University, and attended the Cleveland Institute of Music as a graduate student, studying viola performance. She has studied with such master teachers as Jeffrey Irvine, Lynne Ramsey, and Peter Salaff at CIM, Molly Sharp in Richmond, and Lenny Matczynski, viola professor at the Boston Conservatory. Kimberly spent five summers performing chamber music at Apple Hill Center for Chamber Music in New Hampshire. As a member of the CIM Apprentice Piano Quartet she studied chamber music with the famed Cavani String Quartet.

Kimberly is committed to continuing her training and constantly growing as an educator. She attends Suzuki Violin/Viola Institutes, MTNA Conferences, and teacher training yearly, and partners with other teachers in the area for performances, lectures and workshops. She has registered Suzuki Training in violin and viola from Ronda Cole, Timothy Durbin, Martha Shackford, Roger Stieg, and Elizabeth Stuen-Walker, as well as Music Mind Games training from Elizabeth Cunha. She holds active professional memberships with the Music Teachers National Association, the Virginia Music Teachers Association, The Richmond Area Suzuki Strings Association, and the Suzuki Association of America. Kimberly is the current President-Elect of the Richmond Music Teachers Association.