Musician, professor.
Born at Connellsville, Pennsylvania on 25 June 1939 to Margaret Elizabeth Hearn (1907-2000) and Rev. William J. Ritchey (1908-?), he attended schools in many States, as his father served churches in the east and mid-west. By the age of four his musical ability was apparent, and by the age of ten, accompanied by his father, he played hymn requests every Sunday on the first live-to-air radio station in the United States - KDKA in Pittsburgh, PA, rarely needing music in front of him.
At the age of 13, he made his debut performing a Grieg piano concerto under William Steinberg and the Pittsburgh Symphony. Also a clarinetist, violinist, and vibraphonist, he soon discovered his love for jazz, as well as for the pipe organ. He studied philosophy, mathematics, and Greek at Houghton University in New York State and at Haverford College in Pennsylvania, and music under Arthur Poister at Syracuse University, New York. During the summers, he travelled south collecting folk music in the Appalachians, as well as preaching and leading the music for Christian tent meetings, culminating in playing for a Billy Graham Crusade. Accepted as a student of the organist Marcel Dupre at the Church of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, France, he studied the French repertoire and improvisation for two years, with studies in composition at the Paris Conservatoire. Following those studies he gave recitals across Europe and England, winning the International Prize in Improvisation in the annual Brussels, Belgium competition.
Returning to the United States, he headed the Organ Department at the Settlement Schools in Philadelphia, conducted several choirs, performed jazz at Birdland in New York City, and interviewed jazz greats on a weekly radio program. Specializing in J. S. Bach, he recitalized widely on the organ in North America. He came to Canada in 1963, serving churches as organist and choirmaster in Saskatoon, Thunder Bay, and Regina. He also established the Royal Canadian College of Organists at Regina, the Regina Bell Ringers Society, and the Saskatoon Summer Players.
In 1969, he accepted a position at the School of Music of the University of Manitoba, primarily teaching music theory, organ, harpsichord, pedagogy, and jazz history. In his tenure of 36 years, he served as University Organist, University Senator, Senior Fellow in Music at St. John’s College, and 13 years as Chair of the Board of the international, interdisciplinary publication, Mosaic. As a wood craftsman, he built two French double harpsichords (one for the School of Music) and a grand pianoforte for Canadian pianist, Boyd McDonald. He was a commissioned and published composer of numerous works, mostly choral, as well as many published scholarly articles, and in 2000 authored with colleague Charles Horton a two-year university music theory textbook, Harmony Through Melody (Scarecrow Press), used at several universities in Canada and the United States. As a pipe organ consultant, he designed and created redesigns for many organs across Canada.
He continued to perform regularly, including on CBC Radio and with orchestras, and in concerts of jazz and American popular song with his wife, singer Candace Ritchey. Beginning in 1985, he gave weekly lessons to musical savant Clarence Asham, about whom several CBC documentaries were made. As well, he served many Winnipeg churches as organist and choirmaster, including St. John’s Anglican Cathedral, where he also co-founded the annual Red River Festival. Having conducted the University Chorus and the Winnipeg Philharmonic Choir, he was dedicated to early childhood musical development, and he and his wife taught a free Saturday Choir School for young children for 13 years.
Retiring from the University of Manitoba in 2004, and being made an Honorary Fellow of St. John’s College, he and his wife moved to Prince Edward Island, settling in Point Prim, where they became active in the musical community and Royal Canadian College of Organists. He continued to compose music, write about Samuel S. Wesley and about keyboard improvisation and organ registration, and enjoy gourmet cookery. His improvisatory skills, repertoire, and love of organ registration kept him in demand as a clinician.
In 1976, he married Candace Bernard and they went on to have four children.
He died at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island on 13 April 2006.
Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 20 April 2006.
“Lawrence Ivan Ritchey,”, Ritchey Family Tree, Ancestry.
This page was prepared by Lois Braun.
Page revised: 11 March 2024
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