RYAN T. NELSON is a Lecturer in Music Theatre for the School of Communication at                   Northwestern University and Music Director for Northwestern’s Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts. He also serves as Music Supervisor for the American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) and the famed “Waa-Mu” show. Ryan is the Resident Music Director at Chicago’s Marriott Theatre, where he has music directed dozens of productions, including the world premieres of OCTOBER SKY, HERO, ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER: NOW AND FOREVER and FOR THE BOYS. His work on A CHORUS LINE and THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA at the Marriott has been recognized with Jeff Award nominations for excellence in Chicago theatre. Ryan has also conducted and orchestrated  productions at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and the Asolo Repertory Theatre (Sarasota, Florida). He has been on the faculty of Northwestern University for over a decade, formerly as an Assistant Professor of Music in Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music. His Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in conducting are from the University of North Texas, where he was a student of Eugene Migliaro Corporon.