ryan alexander, voice
educator | vocalist
Project Poetic JusticeProject Poetic Justice is an arts initiative at the DC Jail that empowers incarcerated youth (ages 18–24) through poetry, music composition, and personal storytelling. Ryan designed this project in collaboration with Johns Hopkins, The Petey Greene Program, Free Minds Book Club, the New Uncertainty Collective, and the Peabody Institute. The 10-week program helps participants build creative skills, develop personal branding, and expand reentry networks. It culminates in a community concert as well as a concert at the DC Jail, showcasing original works and highlighting the transformative role of the arts in carceral spaces.Ryan plans to continue this project on an annual basis, with hopes to expand to other citites, schools, and facilities.Check out this WTOP article to learn more!Read more about the project on Peabody's Creative Wire blog.*All images taken by Scott Gelman of WTOP.
who i am
Artist and activist Ryan Alexander performs various repertoires spanning art song to film. A latecomer to music, Ryan spent six years serving as a special education teacher and college administrator for Chicago Public Schools and the DC Jail. His experiences in the classroom directly inform his work, resulting in a desire to create programming that centers the human experience & uplifts marginalized identities.To strengthen his interpretive skills, Ryan attended Source Song Festival in the summer of 2025. The emphasis on collaboration and focus placed on supporting new works inspired Ryan to bring these practices home. Later in 2025, he premiered Threnody of Hope by Natasha Bogojevic at Chicago's Ear Taxi Festival.Beyond the arts, Ryan is a passionate advocate for educational access and equity. While managing the college department at the DC Jail, he helped launch programs with Harvard, MIT, Amazon Web Services, the University of the District of Columbia, and more. In the spring of 2025, Ryan founded and launched Project Poetic Justice at the Washington, DC Jail. This program connects incarcerated scholars with local poets, composers, performers, and guest speakers to originate new compositions and bolster transferrable life skills.Ryan holds a BA in Anthropology from George Mason University, an MSc in Special Education from Dominican University, and an MM in Vocal Performance from the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University. He completed Teach For America in the Chicago Region, participated in a semester-long honors exchange program at the University of Oxford’s New College, and acquired advanced German language skills through the Middlebury Language Schools. Ryan is currently based in Chicago and works for Perusall as a Learning & Engagement Strategist.
work samples & press
events
upcoming performances:
Project Poetic Justice Community Concert
Original works created in collaboration with residents at the DC Jail
5:30-7:30pm, Saturday, May 2nd, 2026
450 K Street Busboys and Poets
Washington, DC 20001recent performances:
Ear Taxi Festival Composer Showcase
World Premiere of Threnody of Hope by Natasha Bogojevich
Constellation - Chicago, ILSource Song Festival
MNDuo Vocalist
Various Performances between August 3rd - 9th of 2025
Minneapolis, MNProject Poetic Justice
A collaborative poetry, composition, and performance program at the DC Jail
DC Jail Performance (closed to the public) on May 2nd, 2025 at 6pm
Community based performance on May 3rd, 2025 at 12pm @ Church of the EpiphanyDualis Ensemble's Bound by Harmony concert; A choral journey through love, faith, loss, and nature conducted by Kevin Crouch; Grace and St. Peter’s Church in Baltimore, MDLiederabend @ Middlebury College; German for Singers programCondensed interpretation of Die Fledermaus @ Middlebury College; role of Dr. FalkeMiddlebury in Scharbeutz, Germany; additional performances of Die FledermausPride Evensong with Cerberus Ensemble at Saint David's Church, Baltimore, MDWesley musical reading at The Jerry Orbach Theater, New York, NYMM in Voice Degree Recital @ the Peabody Institute, Baltimore, MDSchubert's Wohin? from Die schöne Mullerin performed @ Peabody and the New Classical Lecture Recital, curated by Rebecca Reagan with Xin Wu on pianoPeabody x DC Jail community recital in collaboration with Xin Wu, piano; McKey Monroe, voice; and Andrew Egerstrom, hornGallery of Life: Art Song Reimagined Project @ PeabodyVariety Show @ The Kraine Theater, in collaboration with Sophie Becker, New York, NYBasilio in Middlebury's condensed version of Figaros Hochzeit (The Marriage of Figaro) with performances in Middlebury, VT & Scharbeutz, Germany
get in touch
email: [email protected]