The Ogle Center at Indiana University Southeast, southern Indiana’s center for the performing and visual arts on the IU Southeast campus in New Albany, will present father and son piano duo, Ryan & Ryan on Friday, November 4 at 7:30 p.m.in the Ogle Center’s Stem Concert Hall on the IU Southeast campus, 4201 Grant Line Road in New Albany.  Tickets are $20 for adults, $10 for students, and are available at the Ogle Center ticket office, by calling (812) 941-2525, or online at oglecenter.com.

Ryan & Ryan is a dynamic father-son piano duo that blends classic and contemporary music into an enthralling concert experience. With remarkable credits as solo performers, Donald and Barron combine efforts to amaze audiences with their skill, expressiveness, and love of making music. Their experience in classical, jazz, ragtime, hip-hop, and funk allows them to create exciting new music and give fresh interpretations of old standards. From Rachmaninoff to Gershwin to Billy Joel, Donald and Barron Ryan combine their talents to create a dazzling blend of old and new schools.

Audiences everywhere have been particularly enthralled by their selections from Dave Grusin’s soundtrack to The Firm, by Rachmaninoff’s Second Suite for Two Pianos, and by their spontaneous jazz improvisations. Their performance of George Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue has always earned a standing ovation.

A native of Trinidad & Tobago, Donald Ryan came to the United States to study music, earning degrees from Oral Roberts University and the University of Tulsa. He is well known as a master of diverse styles-evidenced by a diploma from the 9th International Chopin Competition as well as his induction into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame. Donald has also earned the distinction of being among the most accomplished pianists in the world as a Steinway Artist.

Given his father’s profession, Barron Ryan‘s choice of playing the piano is no surprise, and he has been no stranger to the stage since the age of four. He distinguished himself in piano studies at the University of Oklahoma and has been a featured soloist at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame and the Tulsa Performing Arts Center, among many other venues. Barron has also been a prizewinner in numerous piano competitions, including the Oklahoma Israel Exchange Young Artists Competition in 2011.

The pair also emphasizes education. Each pianist has had extensive experience as a featured performer/speaker in the classroom-from earliest grades through university level-and so the duo understands well how to use music as a motivational tool for students.

Ryan & Ryan is a proven hit with audiences of all generations. Their inventiveness, infectiousness, skill and general joy of life make for irresistibly engaging performances.

“It was breathtaking to see and listen to both father and son play the piano so brilliantly, to a sold-out house, and watching everyone respond with such enthusiasm, standing ovations and cries of ‘encore, encore, encore.’ Ryan & Ryan gave the performance of a lifetime at the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame and we relished in it and loved every minute of it.”

– Chuck Cissel, Artistic Director, Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame