Ryan Ross is the Music Director and Conductor of the Allen Philharmonic Orchestra, a professional symphony orchestra in Texas; Conductor of the Greater Dallas Youth Orchestra Philharmonic; and Director of Orchestras at Plano West Senior High School. Throughout his career, he has led six TMEA Honor Orchestras, including the 2025, 2019, and 2016 string orchestras and the 2023 and 2018 full orchestras at Plano West, as well as the 2014 full orchestra at Jasper High School—the only non-varsity orchestra ever to receive that distinction. His ensembles have also earned numerous national honors, including an invitational performance at The Midwest Clinic in 2018, National Winner recognition in the Mark of Excellence National Orchestra Honors, and awards from The American Prize for Orchestral Performance.
Before joining Plano ISD, Mr. Ross taught at Lewisville High School in Lewisville ISD and Williams Middle School in Rockwall ISD. He also served for five years as Music Director of the East Texas Youth Orchestra in Tyler and for four seasons as Artistic Director and Conductor of the Dallas Festival of Modern Music and its resident professional chamber ensemble, Ars Nova Dallas.
Originally from St. Louis, Missouri, Mr. Ross earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Music degree in orchestral conducting from Texas Tech University. His principal conducting teachers are Gary Lewis and Donald Schleicher, with additional study under Marin Alsop, Gustav Meier, and Larry Rachleff.
An active guest conductor and clinician, Mr. Ross has worked with dozens of all-state, all-region, and district honor orchestras across Texas and throughout the United States, including engagements in California, Oklahoma, Florida, Alaska, Arkansas, New Mexico, Nevada, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Utah. He is a member of TMEA, TODA, and TMAA, and has presented clinics at the annual conventions of TODA, TMEA, and The Midwest Clinic. In addition, he is a contributing author to volumes 4 and 5 of GIA Publications’ Teaching Music Through Performance in Orchestra.