About

Ryan Fillinger (b. 2001) is an Oregon-born composer of wind ensemble, orchestral, and chamber music. His works fuse styles of the 18th, 19th, and 20th Century with modern techniques and contemporary instrumentation. Ryan currently studies composition and wind conducting at the University of North Texas (UNT), where he has studied with Dr. Kirsten Soriano, Dr. Sungji Hong, and film composer Bruce Broughton.

Ryan has earned several awards and accolades, showcasing his increasing popularity as an emerging composer. Ryan was named the recipient of the 2025 American Prize in Composition, and was named the winner of the 2024 National Band Association/Merrill Jones Memorial Band Composition Contest. Also in 2024, he was given first prize in the Pennsylvania Symphonic Winds Composition Contest. In 2023, Ryan was recognized as the winner of the Austin Symphonic Band’s second annual Young Composers’ Contest. He was also a finalist in the ASCAP 2022 Morton Gould Young Composer Awards. Ryan’s works have been performed across the nation and internationally, including performances by the Indiana University-Bloomington Bands, Austin Symphonic Band, Wilfrid Laurier University Bands (Canada), Royal Australian Air Force Band (Australia), Pennsylvania Symphonic Winds, and ensembles at UNT including the Wind Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Concert Band, and Symphony Orchestra. Ryan also frequently collaborates with students and faculty at UNT to produce exciting and dynamic new chamber works.

Ryan’s passion and dedication as a composer has garnered recognition from many, who call him “one of the most promising young composers of his generation”, and one “[whose] fresh voice will undoubtedly craft a wonderful new addition to the wind band repertoire.” (Austin Symphonic Band)