Ryan Onestak

Ryan Onestak is a composer born in Western Pennsylvania, who earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Carnegie Mellon University in 2026. An avid lover of film and television scores, contemporary chamber music, and the intersection of electronic and acoustic performance, Ryan has always drawn inspiration from these areas to find new ways to incorporate exciting textures in his music. Ryan’s main influences lie in Steve Reich and Philip Glass of the minimalist movement, contemporaries such as Ólafur Arnalds, Max Richter, and Eric Whitacre, and the post-rock style of the bands Sigur Rós and Radiohead.

Through his training of Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Onestak has formulated one simple philosophy in life: "music should feel". Ryan believes, however, that it is not the job of the composer to tell the listener what to feel; but that the composer should put forth a vessel that allows the listener to feel whatever it is they need to feel at that given moment in time.