David Ryther

Hailed by the Los angeles times as "Vivid" and "Extraordinary" David Ryther (violin) has brought his interpretive powers as a soloist to such festivals as the Darmstadt Summer Festival of New Music, the Banff Center, and the Green Umbrella Series at the Bing theater in Los Angeles. He has been featured playing new music with adventurous ensembles sfSoundGroup, Earplay, San Francisco Contemporary Players, the Berkeley New Music Ensemble, Sonor, and Octagon. He is also a member of the Circadian String Quartet, a group that specializes in contemporary music and has recieved rave reviews for their renditions of David's transcriptions of Stravinsky's ballets.  As a violinist, he has played in many of the orchestras and ensembles in the Bay Area including the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra. David graduated with highest honors in music from UC Santa Cruz and  received his doctorate in contemporary violin performance from UC San Diego. A dedicated teacher and conductor, David is the conductor and music director of Villa Sinfonia in San Francisco, teaches violin at the Crowden School, and has served as coach and interim conductor with the Berkeley Youth Orchestra. As a composer, David was commissioned by the BYO to write an orchestra piece to celebrate its golden anniversary, the resulting piece, "Tango for a Traveling Musician" received a standing ovation. He has also had world premiers played by the Villa Sinfonia, an orchestra piece called "Friend" commissioned by the Croi Glan dance troupe in Cork Ireland, and has worked in residency with Kate Weare company in New York and Dandelion Dance Theater in the San Francisco Bay Area. Currently he is composing an Opera called "Euridice's Defiance."