Biography:

Ryan Picone is a performer and guitar instructor with twenty years of professional experience. He has performed professionally at many venues, including Town Hall-New York, Dakota Jazz Club - Minnesota, and South by Southwest-Texas. Ryan’s teaching experience comes from his involvement with guitar programs at academic institutions and nonprofit organizations, including Glendale Community College, Arizona State University, University of Minnesota, Minnesota Guitar Society, Sounds Academy, and Lead Guitar.

After completing his Master's Degree with guitarist Frank Koonce at Arizona State University, Ryan went on to study with Lorenzo Micheli in Lugano, Switzerland, at Conservatorio della Svizzera italiana. When Ryan returned to the US, he worked with jazz guitarist Howard Alden before moving to Minneapolis to continue his education.

Currently, Ryan is completing his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the University of Minnesota with a secondary focus in composition under Alex Lubet and Maja Radovanlija. While completing his Doctorate, Ryan has also been studying with film composer Stephane Wrembel. In his lessons with Stephane, he has been working on a new methodology to understand the music of Django Reinhardt in preparation for his dissertation.

Ryan is excited to begin teaching at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint John’s University and is looking forward to welcome all students to his guitar studio this fall.