Biography

Ryan Fitzpatrick has worked internationally with music students, schools, and ensembles as a teacher, clinician, and adjudicator. A dedicated teacher, Mr. Fitzpatrick is currently the high school orchestra director in the Elmbrook School District, one of Wisconsin’s premier school districts. He also serves as the Prelude Orchestra director in the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestras. As an active member of the Suzuki Association of the Americas, he has completed core cello training in levels 1-10.

In addition to his teaching, Mr. Fitzpatrick has an active musical career as a soloist and chamber musician. He gives several regular solo recitals and has performed in numerous orchestras, including the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, the Wisconsin Philharmonic, the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra, and the Civic Orchestra of Chicago.

Prior to teaching in Wisconsin, Mr. Fitzpatrick was an Assistant Professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, where he taught cello and Music Education courses preparing students for careers in Music Education. He also taught at the Fairbanks Suzuki School of Talent Education, the Anchorage Suzuki Institute, the Fairbanks Summer Arts Festival, the Alaska Cello Intensive, and founded the Fairbanks Cello Festival. He has served as President of the Alaska chapter of the American String Teachers Association (ASTA) and was a conductor for Fairbanks Youth Symphony Orchestra. He has been an active member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), served on the board for the Alaska Music Educators Association (AMEA), and been a regular presenter at various state Music Education conferences. Additionally, Mr. Fitzpatrick was the principal cellist of the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra and a member of the Alaska Trio, which performed with competing pianists at the 2017 Yamaha International E-Piano Competition.

Mr. Fitzpatrick earned his degrees from Indiana University Bloomington and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. His primary cello teachers have included Dr. Carol Semmes, Dr. Emilio Colón, and Daniel McDonough of the Jupiter String Quartet, with additional long-term studies with Dr. Helga Winold, Marc Coppey, and Richard Aaron at the Aspen Music Festival and School.

Mr. Fitzpatrick currently performs on a 2017 William Whedbee cello, made in Chicago.