Ryan Heinlein recently completed coursework for his Doctorate of Musical Arts at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at The University of Missouri-Kansas City. He received his bachelors and masters degree in trombone performance from Wichita State University. He began playing trombone at the age of eleven and has been playing professionally since the age of fifteen. As a performer, Ryan is known as one of the most versatile trombonists in the Kansas City area and has quickly become a first call musician for all genres. Ryan performs regularly with the Marcus Lewis Big Band, The Band That Saved The World and Next Level Live. He has also performed with The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, The Northland Symphony, Parranderos Latin Combo, Julian Vaughn, Michael Feinstein, the Tommy Dorsey orchestra, the Harry James orchestra and can be seen playing with area rock, reggae, funk, R&B and hip hop acts. As an educator, Ryan is the former director of instrumental music at The Independent School in Wichita. He has held adjunct music instructor positions at Butler Community College, Avila University, Ottawa University and Friends University. He has been an adjudicator for the Wichita Jazz Festival, the Washburn Jazz Festival, the Mid-Kansas symphonic festival and the Goddard Festival of Bands marching competition. Ryan is currently Assistant Professor of Music at Johnson County Community College.