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Rittich, Eugene
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Dates of existence
1928-2006
History
Eugene (Danny) Rittich was a French horn player and teacher, born in Calgary on August 15, 1928. He studied with Douglas Kent in Victoria, British Columbia, and then at the Curtis Institute with Mason Jones (1945-1951), where he received an Artist Diploma. He also studied privately with Philip Farkas (1967), Frantisek Solc (1971), ad Arnold Jacobs (1973).
In 1952, he became the principal horn player for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and he was the co-principal horn player from 1973 until his retirement in 1989. He was also principal horn for the CBC Symphony Orchestra (1952-1964) and the York Concert Society (1953-1965), and was a founding member of the Toronto Winds and the Toronto Woodwind Quintet. Rittich taught French horn at the University of Toronto (1956-1991) and at the Royal Conservatory of Music (1961-1991). He was the brass coach for the National Youth Orchestra of Canada (1960-1984), and was a coach (from 1973) and guest conductor (1979-1989) for the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra. His students include Jean Gaudreault of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra; Ronald George, Orchestra London Canada; Miles Hearn, Hamilton Philharmonic; Harcus Hennigar, Toronto Symphony; Carol Lavell, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony Orchestra; James and John MacDonald; Fergus McWilliam, Berlin Philharmonic; Janet Parker, Victoria Symphony Orchestra; and James Sommerville. He commissioned Divertimento No. 7 by John Weinzweig and Sonata for Horn and Piano by Oskar Morawetz, and premiered both works on CBC radio in 1980.
Rittich passed away on June 18, 2006 in Toronto, Ontario.
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Calgary, Alberta
Victoria, British Columbia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Toronto, Ontario
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Revised November 21, 2019.
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Sources
Stephen Chenette, "Eugene Rittich," The Canadian Encyclopedia, December 16, 2013. https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/eugene-rittich-emc.