RYAN ELLEFSEN + EAST CHAPEL HIGH SCHOOL ORCHESTRA

Ryan Ellefsen, a Wisconsin native, is the Director of Bands and Orchestras at East Chapel Hill High School, where he directs two concert bands, two orchestras, and two jazz combos. He is also the advisor for the East Chapel Hill Chamber Society, an extra-curricular group of more than 70 students devoted to the lifelong pursuit of chamber music. In addition, he is the faculty advisor to the Tri-M Honor Society and co-founder of the Music Mentorship Program, which pairs high-school students from across the district with middle-school students to create a bridge from the middle to high school.

In an effort to bring quality music into the canon, Mr. Ellefsen has commissioned works by Shawn Okpebholo, Allison Loggins-Hull, and Brian Balmages, and is a published arranger through the publishing company Alfred Music. He has conducted groups at the North Carolina Music Educators Association’s NCMEA In-Service Clinic and with the UNCG Symphony Orchestra, and has presented at the NCMEA In-service Clinic in 2010, 2017, and 2019. In the fall of 2015, he was elected as North Carolina Eastern Regional Orchestra Director of the Year.

During his tenure in North Carolina, Mr. Ellefsen has served as chairperson for the N.C. All-State Orchestra, the Central District Band MPA, and the N.C. Eastern Regional Honors Orchestra, and as a Member-at-Large for the Central District Bandmasters Association. Currently, he is the Honors Band Coordinator for the N.C. All-State Band and is the North Carolina Orchestra Section Chair.

Mr. Ellefsen holds a bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Summa Cum Laude, and a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Magna Cum Laude. He earned National Board Certification in the fall of 2010. He enjoys golf, softball, spending time with his wife Amy and their children, Jonah and Gillian, and wrestling with their boxer-hound, Olive.