Praised for his collaborative spirit and eclectic programming, Ryan José LaBoy is an active singer, conductor, and educator serving as Artistic Director of  Berkshire Concert Choir and Berkshire Children’s Chorus. Celebrating the power of singing in community across the lifespan, Ryan has extensive experience teaching and conducting ensembles from elementary school through college and university and beyond.

Prior to living in the Berkshires, he served as Director of Choirs & Voice at North  Hennepin Community College where he conducted Concert Choir and Chamber  Singers and led the Voice Studio. He also served as Founding Music Director of  ComMUSICation in St. Paul, Minnesota—an after-school music program with a focus  on social justice and youth empowerment. Such opportunities have led him to work with several Grammy Award-winning musicians, including the Minnesota Orchestra and Leslie Odom, Jr (Super Bowl LIl).

As a professional singer, Ryan has presented recitals throughout Berkshire County with collaborator Manon Hutton-DeWys (piano) and sung with chamber ensembles such as The Sound Between, Border CrosSing, MPLS (imPulse),  VocalEssence Ensemble Singers, and Ember Choral Artists. He has also served as an American delegate at various music programs abroad in Estonia, Iceland, and Ghana.

Ryan is a doctoral student at Teachers College, Columbia University in New York City. As a researcher, he was recently honored to present at the First Symposium for Music and Health at Northwestern University and will present at the Social Impact of Music Making (SIMM) Conference in Brussels, Belgium later this fall. He holds degrees in Choral Conducting and Music Education from the University of Minnesota and Westminster Choir College.

Ryan is proud to live in Pittsfield with his husband, Joel, who serves as pastor at Zion Lutheran Church.