Stuart Ryerse

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Stuart Ryerse is a multi-instrumentalist and juggler currently studying in New England Conservatory’s Contemporary Improvisation department. He plays piano, recorder, mandolin, guitar, bass guitar, quenacho, and harpsichord, in addition to singing, composing, and songwriting.

A native of Dillsburg, PA, he started playing piano at age 5, and studied classical piano and music theory for twelve years before branching out to other instruments and styles. He has studied with James Sempeles, Richard Roberson, Hankus Netsky, Ran Blake, Bert Seager, Aldo Abreu, John Tyson, John Gibbons, Eden MacAdam-Somer, Carla Kihlstedt, Winifred Horan, Warren Senders, and Jerry Leake on all of his instruments in countless styles and performance practices.

He performs regularly with Lampyridæ, an original works fiddle trio whose sound combines elements of Celtic music, classical training, counterpoint, and odd rhythms, to create an experience that is scintillating, exciting, and beautiful. Being comprised of multi-instrumentalists, Lampyridæ is uniquely versitile in their instrumentation, and can often be seen switching instruments in the middle of their tunes.

Stuart has performed with the Harvard Baroque Chamber Orchestra, the Boston Recorder Orchestra, Renaissonics, and a variety of NEC school ensembles including the Middle Eastern, Jewish Music, Interdisciplinary , Songwriters’, and American Roots Ensembles. He was co-music-director for two musicals at Shippensburg University, in addition to accompanying six other musicals in the Central PA area. For a year, he co-created and accompanied fully improvised musicals at the Harrisburg Improv Theater twice per month. He has given many solo private concerts and shows that include piano music, original folk songs, comedy, and juggling.

Stuart is an avid juggler, and can juggle seven balls, or six clubs. As a juggler he is most interested in creating artistic juggling that parallels music with themes, variations, textures, and development through time. He is currently in the process of inventing his own system of notation for juggling allowing him to write down juggling ideas that he cannot yet perform, and subsequently tailor his practice towards learning to put these creative new tricks into practice.

In his spare time, he enjoys learning and speaking Icelandic, playing board games, hiking, rock climbing, mathematics, stenography, baking, computer programming, drawing, writing poetry, knitting, crocheting, sewing, tennis, basketball, ping-pong, fancy paper airplanes, balancing rocks, sailing, kayaking, and traveling, among many other things.

He lives in Melrose, MA with his wife Michelle and their cats Kokomo, Maya, and Elskan.