About John Ritchie (composer)
John Anthony Ritchie was a New Zealand composer and professor of music at the University of Canterbury. In 1981 Ritchie was elected an individual member of the International Music Council, and in 1992 he was awarded the Composers Association of New Zealand Citation for service to New Zealand music. John Anthony Ritchie (29 September 1921 – 29 September 2014) was a New Zealand composer and professor of music at the University of Canterbury. A talented clarinetist, Ritchie was, in 1958, the eponymous founder and conductor of the John Ritchie String Orchestra, which developed into the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra. He was the director of music for the 1974 British Commonwealth Games in Christchurch and the 1986 visit of Pope John Paul II to New Zealand.
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