Caden Ridge is graduate academic counselor who is also an active teacher and performer. As an educator, Caden has maintained private bassoon studios and taught band in the Dalla/Fort Worth metroplex and Mid-Michigan. He has performed with orchestras throughout Texas, Michigan and Arkansas and is an active chamber musician, having most recently competed at the 2022 Coltman Chamber Music Competition. Also active in the promotion of new music, he has premiered several new works for wind quintet, bassoon and other small chamber ensembles. Caden is also an avid early musician, specializing in early reed instruments and engages in musicological research on early bassoons.

Caden previously served as a teaching assistant and teaching fellow at the UNT College of Music. He holds a master's degree in bassoon performance and a graduate diploma in music theory from Michigan State University and a Bachelor's in music education and bassoon from the University of North Texas. In his free time, Caden enjoys hiking, traveling, and playing pickleball with his wife, Ivey.