Ryan Little

Hailed by Montréal’s La Presse as “nuanced and singing,” Ryan Little was appointed as Principal Horn of the Naples Philharmonic in 2017 by Music Director Andrey Boreyko. Born in Burke, Virginia to a musical family, he began studying piano at age 3 before switching to viola, trumpet, and eventually to horn at the age of 10. Ryan received his Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School of Music at Rice University in 2017 where he studied with William VerMeulen of the Houston Symphony. In 2015 he received his Bachelor of Music degree from the Bienen School of Music at Northwestern University where he studied with Gail Williams and Jonathan Boen. Ryan currently serves as the Adjunct Professor of Horn at the Bower School of Music & the Arts at Florida Gulf Coast University.

Ryan has performed as Guest Principal Horn with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Orlando Philharmonic, Sarasota Orchestra, and Vancouver Symphony Orchestra, and has also performed with the Chicago Arts Orchestra, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, Florida Grand Opera, Florida Orchestra, Houston Ballet, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Symphony, Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, New World Symphony, Nu Deco Ensemble, Palm Beach Symphony, and the Utah Symphony. He won Second Prize and the Gretchen Snedeker Prize at the 2013 International Horn Competition of America. In 2014, he was selected as a finalist for the International Horn Society’s Premier Soloist Competition in London, England and at the Aeolus International Competition for Wind Instruments in Düsseldorf, Germany. As a concert soloist, he has performed with the Bonita Springs Concert Band, Florida Gulf Coast University Symphony Orchestra, Naples Philharmonic, Northwestern University’s Baroque Music Ensemble and Symphonic Wind Ensemble, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie (Montréal), and the Skokie Valley Symphony Orchestra.

During the summers Ryan has performed at the Britt Music & Arts Festival, Grant Park Music Festival, Lakes Area Music Festival, and the Sun Valley Music Festival. He also participated as a fellow in the Castleton Festival, Lucerne Festival Academy, National Orchestral Institute + Festival, l’Orchestre de la Francophonie, Spoleto Festival USA, Tanglewood Music Center, Verbier Festival, and YOA Orchestra of the Americas. Ryan performs on an instrument made in 2012 by Karl Hill of Rockford, Michigan.