Ryan Chen (he/him/his)
Guitarist
Ryan Chen is a guitarist based in Los Angeles. Formally trained in classical piano since early childhood, Ryan quickly picked up the guitar at 12 years old which has since become his primary instrument. Ryan mainly specializes in fingerstyle guitar, taking inspiration from the styles of Chet Atkins, Jerry Reed, and Tommy Emmanuel; however, he has also been involved with multiple projects encompassing a variety of musical genres, including recording and accompanying upcoming singer-songwriters in the greater Los Angeles area and music consulting for alternative rock artist Kant’s Konundrum. As a soloist, Ryan also has played guitar for wedding ceremonies in the greater LA area, and he has volunteered at hospice centers and hospitals playing weekly fingerstyle guitar concerts for patients. In 2019, Ryan was a Elevate showcase finalist as part of a duo “Topher and Ryan”, and in 2020 he won first place in the Topanga Banjo and Fiddle Festival Competition in Advanced Fingerstyle Guitar division.
In addition to his guitar playing, Ryan has been involved as a singer in the Los Angeles a cappella community. He was musical director and arranger for UCLA’s AweChords A Cappella from 2016-2017, and he sang tenor and vocal percussion for semi-professional LA-based a cappella group Top Shelf Vocal from 2018-2023.
He is currently an internal medicine resident at Los Angeles Medical Center.
