Dominic Ryder

Dominic Ryder is an Atlanta based percussionist, educator, and instrument builder. He has studied and worked in styles from Western classical percussion to Japanese Taiko drumming, and maintains an active performance schedule with a particular focus on new and experimental music; he is a co-founder of and the Director of Operations for the Atlanta Contemporary Music Collective, Atlanta's only contemporary chamber orchestra, and has also performed frequently with other Atlanta new music groups, including Terminus Ensemble, Bent Frequency, and Ensemble Vim.

In his role as an educator, Dominic is the percussion director at Lakeside High School, where he directs the marching and concert percussion ensembles, and teaches percussion class. He also serves as the percussion teaching artist for the Atlanta Music Project, coaching percussion students aged elementary through high school.

As an instrument builder and fabricator, Dominic specializes in the construction, repair, and customization of percussion instruments of all kinds, particularly the creation of unusual and specialty instruments. Also an active member of the local maker community, Dominic has previously served on the board of directors for Freeside Atlanta, a non-profit community makerspace.

He holds a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of New Hampshire, and a Master of Music from Georgia State University, where he studied with Dr. Stuart Gerber, Dr. Victor Pons, and Charles Settle.