Any Given Child
Chamber Music Tulsa is proud to partner with Any Given Child Tulsa to bring chamber music to all 2,700 fourth graders in the Tulsa Public Schools System.
The goal of the Any Given Child Initiative, a program of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, is to assist communities in developing a plan for expanded arts education in their schools ensuring access and equity for all students in grades K-8. In 2010 The Arts & Humanities Council of Tulsa, in partnership with The City of Tulsa, Tulsa Public Schools, and The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation, applied to participate in the initiative.
Barron Ryan — October 19-22, 2026
Barron Ryan’s love for music has always been divided. The son of two musicians, he grew up in a house filled with the sounds of artists ranging from Mozart to Motown. So when it comes to his own work, he’s not content drawing on just one influence. He combines them all into a musical adventure that’s vintage yet fresh, historical yet hip, classic yet cool.
After beginning piano lessons at age four with his father, Barron seemed destined for a career in music. He excelled in performing throughout his middle and high school years in Tulsa, OK, then continued to impress his peers and instructors as a piano performance major at The University of Oklahoma.
Everything did not come up roses, however, as Barron was then rejected by all the music conservatories you might be impressed by. Disheartened and a little annoyed, he briefly gave up on the piano in pursuit of a satirical hip-hop career. But due to a favorable result in a piano competition that sent its winner to perform internationally, that project was graciously short-lived.
Thanks to that concert tour, Barron found his artistic voice. He discovered the joy of jazz- and ragtime-inspired concert music (found on his debut album, Classical with Attitude), and learned from great jazz pianists by transcribing and replaying their solos (found on his second album, The Masters’ Apprentice).
In 2019, Barron noticed a shocking lack of funk-, pop-, and country-inspired classical music. Realizing he could fill that void, he composed his “Magic City” Sonata and a dance suite called Suite Thing. Those works are now published and recorded on his third solo record, First of Its Kind.
In 2021, Barron added ‘commissioned composer’ to his growing list of accolades. Requested by Chamber Music Tulsa to produce a work commemorating Tulsa’s 1921 massacre, he wrote a piece for piano trio entitled My Soul Is Full of Troubles. Smithsonian Magazine even took note, naming Barron one of ‘Ten Innovators to Watch in 2021’.
Two years later, Barron added two more movements to Troubles, resulting in There Arises Light in the Darkness, a three-movement work which aims to bring hope to the Tulsa Race Massacre’s memory. In 2024, Barron released an eponymous album of the work, featuring Christopher Whitley on violin and Sterling Elliott on cello.
Barron is following in his favorite composers’ footsteps by publishing his original works in the public domain. He offers his work as a gift to the world, and as a chance to collaborate with artists from around the globe.
