Ryan Borden is a percussionist/drummer and educator based in Minneapolis. He received his Bachelor of Music in performance from Illinois State University and his Master of Music in performance from the University of Missouri where he won the university concerto competition and was awarded membership into Pi Kappa Lambda honor society. His primary instructors include Glenn Kotche, Roger Braun, Dr. David Collier, and Dr. Julia Gaines.
As an active scholastic and studio instructor, Ryan focuses on well-rounded musicianship and versatility as a percussionist; multi-faceted development of technique; sonic awareness and sound production; and self-assessment. Also a passionate community educator, his experience with collective drumming ensemble coordination and facilitation have taken him as far as the Dominican Republic and Haiti to conduct teacher workshops, and as close-by as the Frogtown neighborhood in St. Paul for impromptu drum circles and elementary-age drumming classes.
Ryan currently performs as a section percussionist with the Mankato Symphony Orchestra. He formerly held the position of principal percussionist with the Missouri Symphony Orchestra, and other orchestral credits include the Illinois Symphony Orchestra, Enid Symphony Orchestra, and the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra, among others. His work in contemporary classical music ensembles has placed him side-by-side with world-class performance groups like eighth blackbird, as well as collaborating with acclaimed composers Martin Bresnick, Donnacha Dennehy, and Roger Reynolds.