RyanDan

Ryan and Dan Kowarsky, born in 1979, are the two halves that make up pop-classical vocal power duo RyanDan. Brought up in an affluent suburb of Toronto, the Kowarsky brothers spent their early years watching their opera-singing father from the wings of local theaters. By the age of four both brothers had followed his lead and began performing in musicals and plays. The brothers' identical appearance allowed them to split roles, like the lead in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which they shared while still in high school. Weened on Pavarotti and falling in love with Stevie Wonder in their teen years, the Kowarsky brothers set their sites on the vocal pop world early. Accompanied by a friend, Ryan and Dan waltzed into Sony Music Canada's office in Toronto and sang in the lobby at the age of 18. They left with a record deal, which would go on to earn them their first platinum record. As members of the boy band B4-4, the Kowarskys were introduced to the public and inner workings of the music industry, but disillusioned with the banal, uninteresting music they had to perform. As they matured the brothers chose to strike out on their own as a pop-classical duo, writing and selecting their own repertoire. For their debut release, RyanDan, the Kowarskys collaborated with veterans like folk artist Judie Tzuke and producer Steve Anderson. Singles such as "Like the Sun" and "The Face" won a place on Canadian pop charts, an unlikely destination for music with such a classical slant. The record placed on Canada's Top 100 in the year of its release, 2007. ~ Evan C. Gutierrez, Rovi