MASTERCLASS - Ryan Davis - Viola

“A violist unlike any other” (Stir Vancouver), Canadian Ryan Davis has swiftly emerged as a singular creative force. Performing under the moniker Radia, Davis has earned acclaim as a composer-performer who unites his extensive classical training with the influences of folk, electronic, and hip-hop music. Hailed as an “electronic Wunderkind” (OperaRamblings), he delights in redefining the viola’s profile and seamlessly moves between creative spaces.

His distinctive sound has drawn wide attention, with performances and features in venues and platforms such as Toronto’s Koerner Hall, CBC Radio, The Violin Channel, Los Angeles’s Skid Row, and ABC Channel 7 News LA. His debut EP, Of Glow & Abandon (2021), was released on all major platforms and praised for “showcasing multitudes of colours and possibilities, with much skill and imagination” (The WholeNote).

In 2021, Davis was named one of “30 Hot Canadian Classical Musicians Under 30” by CBC Music. Davis completed his studies at McGill University, Yale University, and The Colburn School, under the tutelage of André Roy, Ettore Causa, and Paul Coletti. In 2019, he became the first-ever violist to be awarded the Rebanks Fellowship in the Rebanks Family Fellowship & International Performance Residency Program in Toronto. He was recently appointed Assistant Professor of Viola at the University of British Columbia’s School of Music in Vancouver.

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