A performance by award-winning multi-instrumentalist Dr. Tyler Flores Ramos is “deeply thought-provoking, colorful, and possesses an ethereal sensibility that can transport his audience to a state that is other-worldly” (Hawai’i Music Teachers Association). Dr. Ramos began his musical studies in 2002 at the Ellen Masaki School of Music with world renowned piano pedagogue Ellen Masaki on the piano and her daughter Nancy Masaki on the cello. Although he did not realize it at the time, Dr. Ramos was among the last of Ellen’s students before she passed away in 2009. After her passing, Dr. Thomas Yee took up Ellen’s mantle and mentored Dr. Ramos for eight years until 2017 when he graduated from the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa with his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance. Continuing his education, Dr. Ramos studied with Dr. John Milbauer at the University of Arizona and graduated with his Master of Music in Piano Performance in 2019. Dr. Ramos now holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Piano Performance and Literature along with a Music Theory Minor and Arts Leadership Certificate from the Eastman School of Music where he studied with Natalya Antonova. In addition to his private teachers, Dr. Ramos has also studied with legendary teachers such as Nelita True, John Perry, John Nakamatsu, Alexander Kobrin, Alexander Gavrylyuk, Angela Cheng, Alvin Chow, and Sara Davis Buechner.

Dr. Ramos has been heard across the United States and Canada in various venues. He has won top prizes at competitions such as the Music Teachers National Association and the Lois Trester Competition. He has also participated in prestigious music festivals including the Colburn School of Music Summer Program, the Chautauqua Piano Program, and the Piano Program at the Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity. Dr. Ramos has a passion for championing music by female composers and historic composers of color. Recent projects include his own arrangement of Clara Wieck-Schumann’s Romances Op. 22 for piano and cello and select tunes by the late Queen Lydia Lili’uokalani in the style and tradition of Franz Liszt’s lieder transcriptions. 

As an educator, Dr. Ramos taught at the collegiate level for five years throughout his graduate studies. He is now a lecturer at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa and was recently appointed to teaching positions at the Ellen Masaki School of Music and the Sacred Hearts Academy where he will teach group music theory lessons, performance classes, chamber music, and private applied lessons. Dr. Ramos’ is dedicated to giving his students a well-rounded music education, and he believes that anyone regardless of age or experience has the capacity to learn music given the right circumstances.

Musical or not, Dr. Ramos is passionate about building community and bringing together people of varying backgrounds. He always welcomes the opportunity to make a new connection with a fellow human being. Outside of music, he enjoys baking and swimming in his free time.