Ryan MacKinnon (he/him) started playing guitar at eight years old and switched over to drum kit when he was 10. Upon entering high school he found a new love in playing classical percussion instruments. Ryan has a Bachelor of Music in Self-Directed Performance at Wilfrid Laurier University and has played with a variety of different orchestras, choirs and concert bands including the Stratford Symphony, Guelph Symphony and Guelph Concert Band. He runs a private teaching studio and holds lessons for drums and classical percussion instruments, and is a teacher at the Burlington Music Centre. Ryan loves to share all the things he has learned on his journey to help young musicians excel.
Ryan is our Community Programs Manager and organizes our workshops, percussion parties and Halton camp programming. He designs our percussion curriculum and leads our bucket drumming workshops, creating a fun, accessible environment that gives kids hands-on learning experience and can be adjusted to a variety of skill levels. Ryan can be reached at ryan@bandology.ca.
Finding joy in all kinds of music-making, Sandy Wright (he/him) strives to share that joy in his work as an educator, performer and composer. His passion for music was shaped by his high school’s band program, and he studied composition for his Bachelor of Music at Wilfrid Laurier University, playing clarinet in the Wind Orchestra and KW Youth Orchestra. He holds two Master of Arts degrees, one in Community Music and the other in Composition. His music has been performed at festivals and in concerts in Canada and the UK. Sandy teaches privately in Waterloo, performs with the band adult recreation centre and served as Artistic Director for the theatre collective One Strange Night Productions.
Sandy is our Education Manager and Head of Programming, managing our camps in Guelph and Waterloo Region as well as running workshops in the area. He designs our pitched instruments and ear training workshops. His boomwhacker sessions aim to give kids foundations in theory, teamwork and creative thinking. Sandy can be reached at sandy@bandology.ca.
