about

Ryu Cipris is a flute player freelancing in New York City. Ryu most often works with The Lion King on Broadway—as a frequent substitute for the past decade—and has performed at Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Recently guest principal with Opera Saratoga, New Haven Symphony, Greenwich Symphony, Bard SummerScape, and New Jersey Festival Orchestra, Ryu has also played with the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall and Radio City Christmas Spectacular. He has backed Barry Manilow and Cyndi Lauper, recorded with Yale Schola Cantorum, and appeared on HBO’s The Gilded Age.

The first American-born member of his family, Ryu’s parents emigrated from Japan and the former Yugoslavia. He earned degrees from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore and Conservatorium van Amsterdam in Holland, during which time he won the Dutch International Flute Competition and Yamaha Young Performing Artist national auditions. Direct from grad school, Ryu was hired for the North American tour of Les Misérables where he had the further fortune of meeting his husband, percussionist Eric Borghi. After three years on the road, they resettled in New Jersey in 2013.