Andrew Ryan grew up in a small town outside Boston, one of the seven children of a college professor and an artist. He began playing the violin at age ten and became intrigued with how violins were made after putting a large crack in his own violin, and visiting a violin maker to have it repaired.

Andrew received a B. A. in classical composition from Berklee College of Music in 1984. A year later he entered The Violin Making School of America in Salt Lake City, and within six months was working in the repair shop of the school’s director Peter Paul Prier. After graduating in 1989 he went to work in London under Adam Whone at Edward Withers Ltd.

In 1994 he was hired by Reuning & Son Violins in Boston, and quickly rose to the position of workshop manager. There he had the opportunity to see and study many of the finest Italian instruments with expert Christopher Reuning, and over the next fifteen years helped build the world class reputation of Reuning & Son.

Since 2011 Andrew has devoted himself to acoustic research, workshop “best practices” and the making of new instruments on commission. He continues to have a close relationship with Reuning & Son as a consultant, visiting their workshop once a week focusing mainly on set up and acoustical adjustments. Himself an active violinist and chamber musician, Andrew has a unique understanding of the relationship between player and instrument. His instruments are greatly appreciated for their ease of playing and distinctive voices.

Andrew is a member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers. He has published articles in The Strad, essays on the work of Giuseppe Guarneri “del Gesù”, lectured at conferences and taught violin making at The Violin Society of America’s Oberlin Workshops. He lives in Providence, Rhode Island with his wife and their three children.