Nicholas Ritter

Virginia native Nick Ritter joined the Charlotte Symphony as section bassoonist and contrabassoonist during the 2022-2023 season. He has also been the contrabassoonist in the Richmond Symphony since 2022, and was formerly the contrabassoonist in Orchestra Iowa. Nick has continued freelancing when possible, performing with orchestras including the Chicago Symphony, National Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, and Lyric Opera. During the summer, he has performed at music festivals around the country, including the Santa Fe Opera and the Peninsula Music Festival.

A passionate music educator, Nick is the adjunct bassoon instructor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and has held teaching positions at Northwestern University, Northern Illinois University, Cornelius Youth Orchestras and The People’s School of Music in Chicago. He also maintains a private studio of bassoon and reed making students. Outside of rehearsals Nick is most often making reeds, playing with his two cats, or off hiking on all the great trails around Charlotte.

Nick attended Northwestern University and DePaul University, earning degrees in Bassoon Performance and Music Theory. He studied primarily with Chris Millard, Lewis Kirk, David McGill, Bill Buchman, and Miles Maner, in addition to Nancy Goeres and Per Hannevold at the Aspen Music Festival.