Barron Ryan plays Memphis Stomp by Dave Grusin.

Produced by Ackerman McQueen. Find this and other videos by Ackerman McQueen here.

In case you don’t see a concert on our schedule that you’ll be able to attend, the solution is simple. Bring us to where you are! Contact your local performing arts presenter and tell them how great we are and how much you want us to come to your town. We’d love to come and play in your city, and hope we get to see you soon!

One achievement over the past two weeks stands out more than the others though; we’ve just been accepted on the Oklahoma Arts Council’s Performing Artist Roster! Sounds impressive, right? Yeah, now we’ll tell you what that means.

After a very thorough and intense application process, the Oklahoma Arts Council accepts just a handful of artists from within the state that it endorses as good and worthy. Now, not only do we get to put a pretty big feather in our cap, but presenters in the state can also get some assistance if they want us to perform at their venue.

We thank the Oklahoma Arts Council for this honor, and plan to prove them right that we’re a good representation outstanding music by Oklahomans. Now back to work!

The coming months look to be exciting for our duo. We hope to add more performances to our schedule, write more original music, and arrange a wider range of music for two pianos. Subscribers to our email list will get the latest on what we’re doing, plus they will receive exclusive perks to be announced later. So what are you waiting for? Sign up at the bottom of each page on our site or by clicking here.

Ryan & Ryan checks in with guest conductor Dan Wootton from their concert with the Signature Symphony.

Growing up in Trinidad & Tobago, Donald had a number of musical influences, but one of the strongest was the calypso music of Carnival. So for this composition, he wanted to prominently feature the calypso he remembers from the early 1960′s. “There would be bands of steel drums and percussion that would march down the streets with people walking and dancing behind them.” In this new setting that energetic style gets moved indoors and translated for symphony orchestra, but the excitement is sure to remain.

When writing this new work, Donald needed a contrasting section to the jubilant calypso, so he drew upon another early influence. “Trinidad is only seven miles off the coast of Venezuela, so you hear a lot of Latin American music and in the 1960′s, that was one of the hottest styles.” This middle section of ‘Carnival of the Trinis’ features a slow, lyrical melody that stays with you long after the calypso theme returns.

‘Carnival of the Trinis’ will be performed in public for the first time ever in our concert with the Signature Symphony, so this is an event you do not want to miss. Visit our Shows page to learn more about the concert, including ticket information. We hope to see you there!