Ryan Greenawalt

"I wanna sing for all the people, Mama!" Even at three years of age Ryan Greenawalt knew he wanted to be a performer. In fact, growing up in a family of musicians, Ryan doesn't remember a time when he was not singing on stage regularly. Because he was born the son of a traveling worship evangilist, he was always expected not only to sing with the family at services, but by the age of ten, he was already singing the tenor harmony part.He knew by the time he was in junior high that performing would not only be a passion but also a profession. Ryan soon found a love for acting as well as singing, and he felt at home on the stages of his community and school theatres. In high school Ryan won many awards for his acting and vocal abilities. His last three years of high school, he was elected to the prestigous Texas All-State Choir, and selected as the first-chair tenor I in the state for two of those years. As a senior he was awarded a gold medal by the Texas University Interscholastic League for winning Outstanding Performer out of 80,000 students in the state solo competition.After high school Ryan attended East Texas Baptist University to begin a degree in opera performance. After three years of classical training and professional exerience at the Shreveport Opera, Ryan decided to transfer to Belmont University in Nashville, TN to finish his degree after changing it to vocal performance in commercial music. Ryan soon became very active in the Belmont community. He was on scholarship, throwing the javelin, disc, and hammer for the Division IAAA track team, and won five national titles in competitive acting (Forensics). While at Belmont, he was exposed to the variety of music that he is successful singing today: pop, gospel, R&B, rock, jazz, country, and musical theatre. Special honors received while at Belmont include being chosen two years in a row as one of five students to perform in the Belmont Commercial Showcase.Now that Ryan has completed his bachelor's degree, he enjoys both performing and teaching. He has been a featured actor on three national tours with Student Life Productions. Also, Ryan can be found in various studios around Nashville singing backing vocals and demo sessions. He was hired as an adjunct professor last year by Belmont University, where he still enjoys coaching acting and debate for the nationally acclaimed Belmont Forensics Team. Ryan was seen this last year on a national tour with 4Score, a Nashville-based vocal jazz quartet where he sang tenor. He is now blessed with the amazing opportunity of singing in the Christian group Anthem Ave (http://www.myspace.com/anthemavenue). They completed the recording of their first album in May under Doxology Records. Ryan is thankful to have been brought up in a family that supports his dreams. He truly could not have accomplished anything without them standing beside him. He feels immensely blessed to have his amazing friends that make up his community, love and support him, and continually point him toward his Heavenly Father. "Jesus Christ is THE reason I perform. I know I was made for a purpose, and I feel God's pleasure when I sing!"