Ryan Ahlwardt

Ryan Ahlwardt hails from Fishers, IN, his suburban hometown of the past 20 years on the northeast side of Indianapolis. Setting his sights on Indiana University after his days singing at Hamilton Southeastern HS, Ryan auditioned for Straight No Chaser, the renowned 10-man a cappella group on campus. Ryan served as Musical Director of SNC while earning his undergraduate degree in Marketing from the Kelley School of Business in Bloomington. Upon graduating in 2003, Ryan spent two years performing as an a cappella singer onboard Celebrity Cruises. He returned to Bloomington in 2005 to hone his songwriting craft as a solo performer and co-founder of the Mitchell Street Band, an original acoustic pop outfit. In 2008, he re-joined Straight No Chaser when a viral video of the group performing in its college heyday exploded on YouTube and caught the attention of Craig Kallman, CEO of Atlantic Records. As a featured tenor soloist and arranger of SNC, Ryan toured internationally with the group and appeared on The Today Show, Late Night With Jimmy Fallon, SportsCenter,Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, two national PBS specials, and countless local, regional, and national media. A consummate professional and veteran performer, Ryan has worked onstage or in the studio with such artists as Barry Manilow, The Beach Boys, The Temptations, Sara Bareilles, Take 6, and Shania Twain to name a few. This Spring, Ryan's a cappella jazz vocal arrangement and performance of "I Fall In Love Too Easily" will be featured on Canadian crooner Matt Dusk's forthcoming album My Funny Valentine: The Chet Baker Songbook. Ryan has released three independent albums: I Can See Forever (2006), The Malibu EP (2007), and Live From Malibu (2008). His expertise as a vocal arranger, guest clinician, session singer, and live performer is highly sought after in the a cappella, concert/show choir, and worship & praise arenas. Ryan and his wife Lauren, a native of Hudson, OH and fellow Indiana University alumnus, live in Fishers and perform together frequently in Indianapolis. Having recently stepped away from Straight No Chaser, Ryan now serves in his hometown as Area Director for Young Life, a worldwide Christian outreach ministry for adolescents. Hoosier singer, songwriter, arranger, and alumnus of a cappella group Straight No Chaser.