Bill Ruyle

Concert Percussion

Faculty since 2017

Bill Ruyle has been a percussionist/composer/collaborator for new music, dance, and theater in NYC and abroad for over forty years. He began his career playing percussion at Lamama for the landmark original production of “Fragments of a Trilogy” (Elektra, Medea, The Trojan Women) composed by Elizabeth Swados and directed by Adrei Serban. He has served as music director for numerous revivals of the “Trilogy” in NYC, Asia, and Europe. His off-Broadway experience is extensive and includes playing for the original productions of “The Garden of Earthly Delights” and “The Hunger Artist” by Martha Clarke. On Broadway, he has played for the shows “The Pirates of Penzance” (dir. Wilford Leach),”Three Penny Opera”, “Juan Darien” (dir. Julie Taymor),”The Secret Garden”, “The Green Bird” (dir. Julie Taymor), “Aida”, “Big River”, “The Boy from Oz”, “Wicked”, and played percussion and hammered dulcimer for “Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark” (dir. Julie Taymor). Bill has also played for 8 “Shakespeare in the Park” productions in NYC including, “Cymbeline” (dir. Andrei Serban), “Julius Ceasar” and, “The Seagull” (dir. Mike Nichols). He has played in the ensembles of Peter Zummo, Jon Gibson, Peter Gordon, Bill Obrecht, Scott Johnson, Phillip Jonston, “Blue” Gene Tyranny, Bob Een, Naaz Hosseini, The Feetwarmers, The Manhattan Marimba Quartet, Last Forever with Dick Connette, Newband, and The Hudson Valley Philharmonic. His own compositions have been performed nationally and internationally. He has composed modern dance scores for choreographers Diane Madden, Susan Rethorst, Joanne Jansen, Lila York, and Tamar Rogoff. Bill has taught in many educational outreach programs including The Music Advancement Program at the Juilliard School, Lincoln Center Institute, and Link Up! at Carnegie Hall.