Ry Welch was born in Austin, Texas on August 27th, 1971. His parents, both in education, relocated with him to Northern Virginia in 1972 where he would spend his childhood and teenage years. As a youngster, Ry studied piano, voice, and clarinet, and began composing as an alternative to practice. Required to sit for periods of time at the piano each day, and hating his lesson materials, Ry would write pieces of his own or improvise (as comes naturally to all children). Upon reaching high school, Ry began performing in rock bands initially as a keyboardist, soon switching to guitar and then bass, which he still considers his instrument of choice. In addition to these extra-curricular activities, Ry also performed on bass as a member of his school’s award-winning jazz ensemble and orchestra.

As a senior, somewhere between Hindemith in the morning and Megadeth at night, Ry realized his calling as a composer. His first “official” piece, written for his high-school orchestra, was performed at the final concert of his senior year. Ry’s style could already be seen clearly: a combination of post-romantic, modernist and minimalist influences brought together in a flexible dramatic form.

After graduation, Ry formed The Fearless Jazz Trio (later shortened to Fearless) with drummer Davis Douglas and guitar prodigy/ Pat Martino protégé Scott Denett. Over the years, this group would continue to perform, record, and evolve.

In the Fall of 1989 Ry studied for a semester at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, majoring in Bass Performance. Deciding to focus on composition, Ry applied to New England Conservatory in Boston and was accepted for the following Fall. During his semester off, Ry performed as a jazz bassist in the Washington, D.C. area.

At New England Conservatory, Ry majored in Classical Composition, and participated significantly in the jazz and choral departments as well. He also continued performing as a bassist in rock bands outside of his regular curriculum. His studies at NEC included Microtonal Music, Turkish Classical Music and other Eastern genres, Sixteenth Century Counterpoint, Electronic Music and other diverse subjects- all contributing to the development of Ry’s comprehensive approach to composition.

Upon receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in 1994, Ry moved to Charlottesville, Virginia and began working part-time in an independent record store, where his music knowledge grew immensely. His coworkers, all aficionados of various styles, shared their tastes. In addition, Ry could listen to any CD in the store, thereby exposed to things that he otherwise would never have known about. Ry also performed regionally with a “jam band” comprised of musicians of a similar background, playing bars, concert venues and fraternity parties.

Looking to expand his horizons, in 1996 Ry made the move to New York City where he soon secured an internship at a reputable jingle house. In a matter of weeks, Ry was hired as a staff writer. In this creative, diverse and fast-paced environment, he was able to quickly develop his scoring, songwriting and production skills. Ry’s broad music experiences and formal training were perfectly suited to the many opportunities in the field, and he was eager for all of them. And, with the equipment now at his disposal, Ry was able to begin recording his own material and producing other artists. In NYC, continuing to work with Fearless, they released their second album, began a third, completed two music videos and performed a number of gigs.

In 1999 Ry formed Rock Stardom Music with his wife Amy Meier, and in 2001 they relocated to Austin, Texas. In Austin Ry put together a band to perform the songs that he had written over the past few years, releasing his first solo set, “Rock Stardom”, in 2002.

While attending the 2003 South-By-Southwest conference there in Austin Ry met Jack Lee, leader of the 1970s pop/punk band The Nerves and the writer of Blondie hits “Hanging On The Telephone”, “Will Anything Happen?” as well as songs performed by Paul Young and other artists. Ry and Jack immediately felt a connection and began working together. Through careful explanation and examples from his work, Jack demonstrated the principles and aesthetics that guide his songwriting process; over the next days Jack tutored Ry in applying these principles to several of his own pieces. Ry recognized these principles to be in essence identical to many of those taught by composition instructor Robert Ceely at the Conservatory, and with this new realization and insight into the possibilities and intricacies of songwriting, Ry’s inspiration and enthusiasm multiplied. Jack invited Ry to North Hollywood to continue the process, and several weeks later Ry flew out for ten days. There they continued to refine songs, and Jack coached Ry on his performance technique. When not with Jack, Ry worked on some new songs, and spent nights in the recording studio demoing the newly reworked material. Upon returning to Austin, Ry prepared charts of the new arrangements for performance with his band.

Austin having lost some of its charm, Ry and Amy (with plenty of encouragement from Jack) moved to Los Angeles in August of 2003. There, Ry put the finishing touches on his new recordings, and co-produced a demo of Jack’s. Ry's new material was released as the EP "Everything Is Gonna Change" in the Spring of 2005.

In the Winter of 2003, Ry met Derrick Jones and Nehara Kalev of the LA dance ensemble Diavolo, who were working on a new project and looking for a composer to write the score. Their project, “The Wedding Journey: Vows In Mid-Air” was to be both a dance performance and a wedding ceremony in which Nehara and Derrick would tie the knot. Ry worked with the couple throughout the coming months, and the show took place at the historic 1200 seat Wilshire Ebell Theater in June of 2004. The couples' second show, "The Wedding Journey: Paper" was performed November 4th and 5th, 2005 at UCLA's newly renovated Glorya Kaufman Hall. The score included some pieces from the original show as well as three new pieces. In 2008, they staged their third production, "Silk", at the Ford Amphitheater in Hollywood. The soundtracks to all three of these shows are available on iTunes and other digital download outlets.

In 2006, Ry signed on as a composer for the fifteenth season of Disney's "Power Rangers" (entitled "Operation Overdrive"). In this high-energy and action setting he developed a style combining the tightness of Carl Stalling, the rythmic and harmonic tendencies of Messiaen, and the aggressiveness of Motorhead. As the 32 episodes progressed, Ry continuously challenged himself to be more intricate and detailed in both writing and arranging- taking full advantage of the creative freedom that the show allowed. The following year, Ry signed on again for "Jungle Fury" and switched gears to compose a Chinese-influenced score. He purchased a Pipa (a four-stringed Chinese lute) which became one of his most prominent instruments on the project; Ry also featured a male vocal chorus, various Chinese instruments and percussion, and a large orchestra.