South Korean composer Whan Ri-Ahn began his formal composition studies at the Interlochen Arts Academy in the United States, before attending the Royal College of Music in London, where he studied with Kenneth Hesketh and received the James Horner Scholarship Award, supported by Sara Horner. He later continued his composition studies at the Haute école de musique de Genève in Switzerland with Michael Jarrell, and studied electronic music with Luis Naón and Gilbert Nouno.

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​Ri-Ahn completed his Master’s degree in composition at the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP), where he studied with Frédéric Durieux. He also studied electronic music in Paris with Yan Maresz, Luis Naón, and Grégoire Lorieux.

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​His music has been commissioned and performed by major orchestras, ensembles, institutions, and musicians, including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Contrechamps, Ensemble Proton Bern, Ensemble TIMF, Pierre Bleuse, Johannes Kalitzke, and Inmo Yang. His work L’Oiseau dans le Temps II was premiered at Radio France’s Festival Présences 2023.

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​He was nominated for Le Tremplin Musical 2023 of the Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco, and received the 2023 Marthe Depelsenaire Composition Prize from the Fondation de France, as well as the 2023 Composition Prize of the Fondation Francis et Mica Salabert.

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​Ri-Ahn was appointed to the London Symphony Orchestra’s Panufnik Scheme (2024/25) and the composition residency at the Académie du Festival d'Aix-en-Provence (2025). He is currently pursuing doctoral studies at King’s College London under Sir George Benjamin, while also being mentored by Unsuk Chin.