RYAN HOWE Singing 1st tenor and playing bass, Ryan is a jazz singer, teacher, arranger and songwriter originally from the rural mountains of Pennsylvania. There, a musical upbringing led Ryan to an undergrad in classical voice at Mansfield University before traveling to Iowa to attend the School for Music Vocations in Creston, where Ryan was a peer of current Four Freshmen member,Tommy Boynton. Since then, Ryan has spent 8 of the last 11 years teaching in Creston, where he currently serves full-time. Ryan also spent two years at the University of North Texas from 2014-2016 serving as a Teaching Fellow while getting his masters in jazz studies. From Pennsylvania to Iowa to Texas and back, vocal jazz and its beautiful mix of the exceptional harmonic element of jazz with the sweet sound of human voices in harmony has always resonated deeply with Ryan. This love was inherited from his grandfather, a lifelong Four Freshmen fan, who frequently described the group as “marvelous” and “one of, if not THE best darn musical groups on the planet,” and took every opportunity to pass on that deep appreciation to Ryan.