Ray O.

Ray is a pianist, guitarist, educator, and composer from Fort Worth, TX. He began studying music at age 9 after his parents bought him a guitar for his birthday, and quickly started learning how to play his favorite songs by ear. During his teenage years, he became adept at transcribing music and familiarized himself with several music notation programs. This allowed him to cultivate his ear and learn how to compose. As early as middle school, Ray was creating original music to accompany games his friends had designed.

As a piano student at Tarrant County College, he was recognized in 2012 as an Outstanding Music Student through the Celebration of Excellence, qualifying for the Ruth Bost Music Scholarship. He then attended the University of Texas at Arlington, where he was also a recipient of the Reel Music Scholarship, and graduated in 2016 with a Bachelor of Music Composition degree. During college, Ray entered the world of performance. He played in a diverse range of groups, including jazz band, choir, and percussion ensemble.

Since completing his studies, Ray has established a career in composition and audio. He has composed music in a wide variety of styles. Ray is also very interested in audio, occasionally working as a live sound engineer, sound designer, podcast editor, and on other projects involving audio editing. He enjoys recording original music in his home studio as well.

Finally, Ray has thrived in his role as an educator. He has been teaching for nearly a decade, and his passion for teaching has allowed him to be an advocate for and contributor to his local music community. Ray constantly listens out for new music in his area, and of course shares his love of music with his students. As a teacher, Ray hopes to foster his students' love of music regardless of where their interests lie. Ray sees beauty in many different genres of music and has an extremely varied taste. Whether it's the most serene piano literature or the most experimental avant-garde noise rock, he is likely to have explored it. Whether they want to learn their favorite pop songs, study classical piano, explore compositional techniques and music theory, or anything in between, Ray is eager to help his students realize their musical potential.