Ryan A. Koons

About Ryan A. Koons

Award-winning arts administrator, archivist, and ethnomusicologist with over 20 years\' experience supporting arts and cultural heritage through grantmaking; collections and media management; and research, education, and performance. Specialization in collaborating to support community-derived goals and projects. Record includes 7 research publications, over 30 films, over 80 presentations, over 300 performances, and 22 grants and 10 awards received.

Experience

1. Maryland State Folklorist

   Maryland State Arts Council

   Mar 2025 — Present · Baltimore, MD, US

   direct Maryland Traditions, the state folk and traditional arts program-direct all aspects of the Folklife Network, Folklife Apprenticeship, and Heritage Award grant programs-oversee the Maryland Traditions Archives, housed at the University of Maryland Baltimore County-administer MSAC\'s award-winning, constituent-requested Land Acknowledgement Project-manage traditional arts media-provide executive production and oversight of over twenty media-contractor-created documentary short films featuring traditional arts grantees, including film dissemination on Maryland Public Television-work with traditional arts grantees to identify and disseminate success stories

Education

• UCLA

  Master's degree, Musicology and Ethnomusicology

  2010 — 2012

• Dickinson College

  Bachelor of Arts (B.A.), Music

  2006 — 2010

• UCLA

  Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), Musicology and Ethnomusicology

  2012 — 2016

Skills

• Teaching
• Public Speaking
• Event Planning
• Video Editing
• Research
• Ethnomusicology
• Writing
• Film Production
• Cultural Heritage
• Music Performance
• Social Media
• Microsoft Office
• Music History
• Adobe Creative Suite
• Editing
• Music
• Grant Writing
• Oral History
• Fundraising
• Archival Processing
• Archival Management
• University Teaching
• Grants
• Qualitative Research
• Higher Education
• Archives