Professional Profile
Ryan Berndt is a trumpet artist and educator active in professional performance and advanced pre-college training. His work bridges the demands of the concert stage with the formative years of artistic development, emphasizing stylistic awareness, ensemble leadership, and disciplined preparation.
Performance
Ryan Berndt serves as Principal Trumpet of Haymarket Opera Company and appears regularly with leading ensembles specializing in historically informed performance. His work includes orchestral, chamber, and commercial recording projects, as well as collaborations with artists across diverse performance contexts.
His performance work spans orchestral, chamber, commercial, and recording contexts, with particular engagement in historically informed performance and contemporary repertoire.
Teaching & Studio Leadership
Ryan serves on the Conservatory faculty at Merit School of Music, where he leads the trumpet studio and oversees advanced pre-professional training for high school musicians. His work includes recruitment, studio development, chamber coaching, orchestral brass sectionals, and conducting brass ensemble.
Under his leadership, trumpet students and chamber groups have advanced to national recognition, including quarterfinal appearances at the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition. His studio emphasizes disciplined preparation, stylistic fluency, and a collaborative culture rooted in artistic responsibility.
He previously served on the trumpet faculty at the University of Notre Dame, teaching applied lessons, chamber music, and orchestral repertoire.
Artistic Leadership
Beyond performance and studio teaching, Ryan contributes to artistic leadership through chamber music direction, program development, and ensemble mentorship. His work emphasizes clarity of style, shared responsibility within ensembles, and high standards of preparation.