You're Invited!

Step into the heart of musical artistry with the Redlands Bowl Performing Arts Musical Excellence Speaker Series—an enlightening series taking us behind the scenes in the music world. This exclusive 2025 series brings two virtuoso performers and an industry trailblazer in candid conversations sharing stories, techniques, and inspirations on their paths to mastery, and features captivating performances byeach series presenter.

Speakers

Thursday, October 2
Lyndon Johnson Taylor

A Los Angeles Philharmonic violinist shares insider stories about working with the most famous conductors in the world. Lyndon Taylor grew up in a family of musicians, performing international-
ly with the Taylor String Quartet. Initially pursuing a career in medical research, he shifted to music, earning advanced degrees from CSU Northridge and Juilliard, where he studied under Dorothy DeLay. Taylor has received numerous awards, including the Coleman Chamber Music Award and the Rodolfo Lipizer International Competition. He has taught violin at institutions including USC and Occidental College. His orchestral career includes roles as concertmaster for the Redlands and Riverside symphonies, Assistant Concertmaster for the New Zealand Symphony, and Principal Second Violinist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic until 2024.

Thursday, November 6
Kevin Ryan

In 1987, Ryan Guitars founder Kevin Ryan was working for Southern California-based Northrop Aeroscience Lab when he prototyped his first guitar design. By day, he built jet fighter models for transonic wind tunnel testing. Late into the evenings, he worked on guitars, obsessively re-imagining the traditional aesthetics and sound of the iconic American instrument. Kevin’s experience at Northrop – steeped in materials science and precision engineering
– equipped him with a singular perspective and set of tools to craft a new class of acoustic instrument. As he worked, melding art and engineering, on his first series of guitars each step seemed to inspire new approaches to guitar design and construction. In time, he debuted the industry-first Ryan Bevel and Acoustic Flutes, Acoustic Honeycomb, and laser-sculpted “EO” bracing. His contemporary design and advanced tooling garnered attention within the wider guitar industry and within two decades his work influenced a new standard for the look, feel, and performance of modern acoustic instruments. In 2010, Acoustic Guitar Magazine crowned Kevin Ryan one of the most influential guitar makers of the previous 30 years and hailed his guitars “A blueprint for scores of other builders” and “a modern classic.”

Friday, December 4
Anthony León
Spend the evening with a Metropolitan Opera Young Artists Competition winner and worldwide opera star! Anthony León is a rising star in the operatic world, celebrated for his radiant tenor voice and magnetic stage presence. Born in the U.S. to Cuban and Colombian parents, León has quickly built an international reputation, winning top honors at the 2022 Operalia Competition—including both the First Prize and the Zarzuela Prize—and the 2023 Metropolitan Opera Laffont Competition. A graduate of the New England Conservatory and a former member of the LA Opera’s Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program, he has performed leading roles across major festivals and opera houses, including the Salzburg Festival, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence, and Cologne Opera. Praised for his “beauty, freedom of tone, and outstanding breath control,” León brings a fresh, dynamic voice to the classical stage, making him an inspiring presence in this speaker series.