Ryan Wishner began playing the piano at the age of ten, and was immediately drawn toward ragtime. He now plays a wider variety of music ranging from the mid-1800s through the 1930s. Rather than basing his performances strictly on the printed sheet music, he tries to imitate the style of piano rolls and phonograph records from when the music was popular. Ryan also collects the original sheet music, piano rolls, and records from the era, and enjoys working on “mechanical music” machines such as player pianos and phonographs. He is currently studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of California at Riverside.