Bio
Ryan Sullivan was born to a musical family, and started his drumming career at a young age with the White Hackle Pipe Band of Saskatchewan, Canada.
Performing publicly by the age of 10, Ryan was already established as one of the top drummers in the province while still barely a teenager.
By 15 years of age, he was regularly performing and recording with local jazz, blues and rock bands throughout Western Canada and would continue this association for many years.
At the age of 13, Ryan began a long relationship with the grade one Alberta Caledonia Pipe Band under L/D Tim Boan. Ryan played with Alberta for eight seasons before leaving for a three year stint as Lead Drummer of the (grade 2) City of Regina Pipe Band.
Under his leadership, the CRPB developed a strong drum corps that took many prizes at Games across the Prairies, BC, and, at the North American Championships in Maxville, Ontario. Ryan subsequently went on to several more successful seasons with Alberta Caledonia, the most notable being 2001 when the band won the morning qualifier and placed 7th in the World.
After taking time away from active playing to get married and start a family, Ryan played with the City of Regina on successive trips to Scotland in 2005 and 2006, while at the same time developing the drum corps of the Rocky Mountain Pipe Band in Calgary.
Ryan has received significant tuition over the years from Tim Boan (Alberta Caledonia), John Kerr (Shotts & Dykehead, McNish Distillery), Roland Reid (SFU, 78th Fraser Highlanders) and John Fisher (Shotts & Dykehead, 78th Frasers, Spirit of Scotland). He is also quick to mention J. Reid Maxwell and Paul Turner as major influences on his approach to the pipe band idiom. This blend of diverse styles has lead to a unique sound that has consistently put Ryan's drum corps on the cutting edge of pipe band drumming. His ensemble first approach to the drum section has often been described as "less about the rhythm and more about the melody", and a reprieve from the military roots of pipe band drumming.
Ryan is currently Lead Drummer of the Rocky Mountain Pipe Band, and lives in Calgary with his wife and two sons. He works full time in the music industry performing, teaching, composing and adjudicating, and teaches at workshops and summer schools throughout Western Canada and the US.
His company, SCORE! Music Productions offers music writing services, online instruction (for individuals and drum corps), retail drum supplies, graphic and web design services and more.
