A Little About Myself

Greetings,

I am a Toronto based freelance musician, composer and educator. I currently perform regularly with several groups and teach at a number of studios in Toronto’s west end. My compositions are influenced by both my formal background in classical and jazz as well as my long-standing passion for contemporary popular music. 

If you are interested in hearing more of my music please select the “listen” link at the top of the page.  

As for my musical history, I began to study the guitar as a young child in my hometown of North Bay Ontario. During these years I studied primarily with Brian McDowell, an individual to whom I owe a sincere debt of gratitude for being both a wonderful teacher and friend.

 My studies with Brian exposed me to a variety of styles, but the majority of our lessons focused on Classical and Jazz. It was in 2012, under the tutelage of

Brian McDowell, when I completed my ARCT in Guitar Performance from the Royal Conservatory.

Like many guitarists, in my youth I played in a number of bands and musical ensembles, performing and recording in various popular music styles.

 In 2012 I relocated to Toronto to further pursue my interest in jazz, enrolling at Humber College. In 2017, I graduated from the Bachelor of Music program majoring in guitar.

 While at Humber I was fortunate enough to study with a number of wonderful teachers such as: Kieran Overs, Kim Ratcliffe, Nathan Hiltz, Geoff Young, David Occhipinti, Nancy Walker.

 As part of my culminating project for my Bachelors’, I recorded my first EP as a bandleader entitled People & Places. I am currently working of a short solo guitar record, which I plan to release September 2019.

 If you have any enquiries about my music or teaching, feel free to contact me through the message form in the “contact” page.

Mark Ritter